Big Brother
by AwkwardScenario813
Summary: Sora is an only child... and has a special way of getting what he wants. until he gets a big brother. then his life is turned upside down in an attempt to figure out his sexuality, adjust to his new brother, and find a way to cope with anything else that goes wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: My Brother From Hell  
Sora  
I crossed my arms as I waited in the hospital lobby. Mom was having a baby, and I wasn't too keen on having a little sister- girls whined and I know I should be happy to be entrusted with a whole lifetime of protecting someone, but I'm not someone to protect people... I mean, I could, but I was to weak for a hit the asphalt all out knuckle brawl with some guy twice as big as me just because he kissed her. I waited for a long time, then heard a bloodcurdling scream from my mom. I ran towards the delivery room and threw open the doors. Despite the queasiness I was feeling at the sight of all that blood, I ran to her side as she shouted: "MY BABY! NOOOOOO!"

That was three years ago when I was twelve. My mom had a stillbirth, and has been depressed since. She had wanted the second child so badly... Now, she still wanted another kid, but closer to my age so she could manage both of us... My little sister, though sort of destroyed that wish. But my dad wanted to make her feel better, because she's been depressed for three years now. So here I am with my dad as he signed a sheet to adopt a child. My dad got a folder from the woman and flipped through it. He smiled at one bit.  
"I think I'll take this one," he said. "Where do I sign?"  
"Well, it's a long process, but we can let you have him stay a night with you to make double sure. We'll set an appointment tomorrow morning. Here's the details. I'll go get him," the woman said and disappeared behind the corner.  
"Sora, you can go wait in the car. He's going to be a minute. And watch what you say around him- he had a rough childhood. Treat him like you would your own brother."  
"I understand... I'm gonna wait in the car. Or, we could drop the whole thing...?" I asked. I didn't want a sibling. I never really had. When my future baby sister had died in the womb, I hated that it hurt my mom but I was GLAD. Siblings are a pain. I know that from the kids at school who complain about theirs.  
"Sora," my dad said, bright blue eyes flashing, "don't start this- I already told you, I'm doing this for your mother. Maybe she can give the new kid the love she wanted to give to your baby sister. And this is a child that needs love, so please understand that, okay?"  
"Sure... Fine... But I'm still going to the car," I said, hopping off my chair and holding my hand out. My dad reluctantly dropped the keys in my hand and flicked his blonde hair habitually as he went on.  
"Don't try to drive anywhere, 'kay?"  
"Deal," I said and left. The last thing I needed was a sibling. I mean, if I wanted one I would've wished for it and asked, right? I know it was childish to think this, but I sort of think I have special powers sometimes. Like when I really want something, it kind of happens. Like this summer when I wanted some ice cream and had no money- what do you know, there's a huge power outage and the Ice Cream Shop starts giving away free ice cream so it won't all melt in the freezer. And when I hadn't wanted a little sister and she gets thrown into this world... Dead.  
I unlocked the car door and got into the passenger's side. He told me not to DRIVE anywhere... So I turned the key in the ignition and started the car. Funny- normally it just turned over and it took like, five tries to get it to start. I turned on the radio and turned the music up full blast. I didn't care if I went deaf- a disability meant less things for me to hear my parents getting onto me about. I leaned the seat back and closed my eyes. I never wanted to be here- usually I wasn't so negative. But when I got upset about something, (usually something I didn't want to do,) I got mad about it and took it out on everyone who irritated me. I was a little emotional, mood swinging like the crown shaped charm on my chain. I cracked my eye open and flicked at a bug on my knee. I hated this car. And to think I'm gonna be stuck driving it when he gets a new one... Or finishes his payments on it, at least. Yes- be bought a brand new sportscar, just for him, and I can't drive it. Ever. There was a tapping on the window and I opened my eyes to my dad, a little angry looking and a teenage boy in tow behind him. The kid looked close to my age, and was wearing a rugged, baggy, and torn pair of pale blue jeans that had grass stains present around the huge slashes in the knees, a grey, old t-shirt that was faded to the point where it could've once been black, and a black hoodie with frayed sleeves. Over his shoulder he had an old, dirty backpack that looks like it was once green, and draped locks of shoulder-length soft-to-the-touch looking (despite tangles) silvery hair that had a bit of a soft lavender tint. My eyes finally came to rest on his bangs, or rather, what was hiding behind them. He had striking aquamarine eyes that looked like they could burn a hole in my skull. I turned the music down and tilted my seat up, unlocking the doors as I did. Dad moved his finger in a come here motion with a look on his face that said he was a little irritated. I got out of the car and leaned over the top of it on my elbows with my arms crossed.  
"What's up, Pops?" I asked, smiling a half smile.  
"Don't 'Pops' me. You know better than to have that stereo blaring outside a building like this- it's insensitive to the people nearby," my dad said. "Come here," he added, pointing to the ground beside him. I groaned and slumped off the car and dragged my feet around the back to stand next to Dad without passing that weirdo. To think I have to share a house with this kid...!  
"What... I wanna go home and forget about this!" I whined. That just got me a smack on the back of my head from Dad.  
"Sora, don't be a jerk. I'm sorry, son- he's a little hardheaded," he added, apologizing to this kid a few steps away from me. He called him 'son' already!?  
"I'll say," the boy said, with a fairly deep voice. The kind you might hear trying to lure you into an alley so they can stab you and steal your wallet.  
"Heh-heh," my dad chuckled and patted the kid's shoulder. "That's rich," he said, then pretending to wipe a tear away. "Sora, want to introduce yourself to your future big brother?"  
"What! BIG brother?" I asked.  
"He's only a year older than you, so play nice and say hi," he said, talking to me as if I was five and that boy wasn't even there. And like a five year old I just got a pouty look and kicked the ground shyly before looking up enough to glare at him without Dad seeing. The boy adjusted the bag on his shoulder and held his hand out to me politely.  
"Well, I'm Riku," he said, seemingly friendly. Dad kicked my foot really hard so I took Riku's hand.  
"Sora," I muttered. He tightened his grasp to the point that it hurt.  
"Nice to meet you, Sora... I really look forward to being your big brother," he said, an undertone of malice in his voice that shown plainly in his eyes as he squeezed tighter. My fingers turned purple.  
"Ow!" I yelled and jerked my hand away.  
"God, Sora- learn to take a firm handshake!" my dad complained.  
"I apologize, 'brother'," Riku said. He was so fake!  
"Okay, Sora- get in," my dad said, nodding to the car. I went to the passenger's side.  
"Manners, Sora! Let Riku sit in front, today- after all, he's our guest tonight and he's older."  
"What?!" I protested as Riku nudged me over to get in. He stood there until I glared at him and went to the backseat door on the passenger's side. Dad got into the car, the thing sort of bouncing when he threw his weight in like that. Then Riku stuck his tongue out at me before getting in. I grimaced and got in. This was going to be the start of the worst time of my life... All because of this brother from Hell.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Falling Down...  
Sora  
Dad pulled out of the Destiny's Children's Orphanage and started driving down the road, away from downtown and we took the road that gives you a perfect view of the beach. Normally, I would've been excited and happy to see the cool, clear water but now, as I stared at its striking aquamarine color, I glared at the people swimming in the color that strongly resembled Riku's eyes.  
"So, uh... I hope you don't mind me prying, but how did you end up at that place, Riku?" my dad asked.  
"My parents died," Riku answered, and looked in the rearview mirror at me. This time his face wasn't malicious... It was just blank. I went back to looking out at the beachgoers, half wishing I could be one of them, and not a boy to be Riku's brother. We turned towards the suburbs that had all the perfect views of the ocean. It was on top of a hill but a quick sprint down the hill without falling on your face would get you really close to the beach. And if you continued going, you'd be at the beach. I could almost feel it now the warm, soft sand between your toes as you ran, and when you reached the moist sand, the cool, crisp, clear water washed over your feet. I couldn't wait for my afternoon beach visit, compete with a walk along the boardwalk to the ice cream stand, buying some sea-salt ice-cream, heading towards the beach and sitting at my tree. It used to grow all this awesome fruit but it stopped three or four years ago. I still go out and sit on it with my best friend, Kairi. She worked on the local paper, keeping it interesting. Of course, sometimes there's no news and she does a report on puppies or something, but it was still a good story.  
Kairi was always just a friend. I mean, I had a crush on her once, but that was a year ago. She had red-brown shoulder-length hair, blue eyes that resembled mine, and most of the clothes she wore had something pink on it somewhere. If not on her clothes, it was her shoes, or jewelry. I'd been friends with her since kindergarten. Then I realized my dad was talking to me and my house flashed by.  
"... You hear me, Sora? We're stopping at the store to get some things Riku likes. Do you want to wait in the car or go in?" he asked.  
"Umm... I guess I'll go in..." I said. I glanced at Riku, who was still watching me through the mirror. What is with this guy? We drove along the road back into uptown, the nicer side of Destiny Islands' town. We pulled into Isle Mart's parking lot and I got out of the car, making it an obvious mopey motion.  
"Sora, if you don't want to go in, you don't have to," my dad said. He was always a little tough on me. He thought I was a sissy because I can't lift as much weight as he can, and I've always been to scared to use his bench press even when he told me he wouldn't let it fall on me. Riku stood there and hid his bag under the area below the dashboard where you can stretch your legs. Then he closed the door and walked towards my dad, hands in his pockets like he had a sudden personality swap with a shy guy. My dad looked at me impatiently as I followed Riku's path towards where he was standing near the front of the car. I half wished the car would come to life and run over Riku so we could forget he was ever there. I realized my hands were in my pockets and I was walking the exact same way Riku had been. I stood up straight, like king of a lion pride and held my head up high. We all jumped when the car's engine spluttered like it was trying to start. Dad hates being startled and he strode over to the car and opened the hood, and was greeted with a puff of smoke. He spluttered a minute before closing the hood. He pounded his fist on it.  
"Stupid piece of junk!" he griped. Then he steered us towards the store. "Hurry up and learn how to drive, Sora- I want my sportscar!" he complained.  
"I actually got my permit some time ago... I actually kind of need to go in for my license, soon, anyway," Riku said politely. "If you want I can take that thing off your hands so you can get to your new car... I'd kind of like to see it when we get to your house," he added. He was trying to suck up, I knew it!  
"It's not just my house, anymore. It's yours, too. Call it home, okay? And when we get home, I'll take you into the garage to see it," Dad said, patting Riku's shoulder. My mouth hung open in angry shock. I only saw that stupid sportscar once when dad first pulled it into the garage- I wasn't even allowed to touch the garage door! I folded my hands behind my head angrily. I trailed along behind them. This was going to ruin me! Dad stopped everywhere, constantly asking Riku if he saw anything he liked, and occasionally Riku would answer with a yes and point to what it was or a maybe and glance at several things before choosing. Dad only let me get a few things, saying we had plenty for me to eat at home, which is ridiculous because what's good enough for me is definitely good enough for Riku. So Dad had me haul most of Riku's foodstuffs while Riku and Dad talked cars- I hardly understood a word they were saying, which made me feel excluded. He had me load up the groceries in the back while he and Riku got into the front. I closed the trunk when I heard my dad yelling from the front.  
"C'mon, Sora! Pick up the pace a little, will you?" my dad asked impatiently. Man, he was giddy about Riku. I suddenly started wondering where he would go to school- it started in like, three days and I had a guaranteed spot at the popular kid's table because I was friends with Yuffie and Squall, and they were two of the most poular kids there, despite the fact they were going to be sophomores and juniors. Yuffie, being the younger of the two was going to be the sophomore, and Squall would be the junior. I wasn't allowed to call him Squall, so when I wasn't in my room or my head I called him Leon. I was even thinking about joining the track team because I could jump pretty high, so I'd be doing the jumping parts of track. Yuffie could probably get me in, too because on top of running events, she did tennis, softball, and cheerleading (a thing she only got into so she could yell at Leon from the sidelines while he played basketball). I sat in my seat and buckled up because while I was thinking, I had gotten into the car. I saw Riku grinning evilly from the rearview mirror and for a minute had the strangest feeling that he could read my mind. And I didn't like it because if he went to Sunset Hill High School with me, there was bound to be trouble. There was a trolley that took us there, but the school was a pretty long way from my house.  
We drove down next to the boardwalk that went to right across the street of my house and farther, until we reached my house, the flying wooden planks slowing to a snail-crawl as we pulled into my driveway. I looked at the house. It was pink like raw chicken with an orange tint that sort of reminded me of a sunset, it had white window frames, a white garage door, white door frames, and a deep brown round-topped door that had a half-circle rippled glass window on top. The first floor windows were fairly large, and round on top. There was one about three feet from each side of the door. In front of the door there was one step with a mat on it that said 'welcome' in all caps. The second-story windows on the front were square and big enough to fit through. They were the same size and shape as the windows on the sides of the first floor. There were two windows on the left side (when you face the front of the house) that were seat windows- like, the kind you can sit in or use as a shelf. My room was one of the four second-story rooms. Mine, however, was the only one in the front to have a sitting window. The other one had the same boring windows on the side that they had in the front. The two rooms in the back had sitting windows, but the one on the back right (still facing the front of the house) is my dad's office. The one across had always been the guest bedroom, mine was the one next to it and across from me was my parents room. Lucky me, my room is the only one connected to the upstairs bathroom, and my room is the only way in of two- the other entrance/exit is in the guest room, which no one ever goes in since the failed nursery. I call it failed because a child never occupied it, and you can only guess why. There was a back balcony that the upstairs hallway led to, the door to get onto the balcony next to the staircase. Downstairs, the living room is to the right when you walk in, and it's lower than the rest of the first floor, two steps down, to be exact. It's more of a den, and there's a desk in the corner next to the huge flat screen TV. That's pretty much my corner. There's an adjoining desk next to mine with a sleek new desktop on it that shares a chair with the first, and on the side of the computer colorful foam letters say 'Sora's Computer' with little stars and crescent moons around it. Next to my computer desk is the door to the garage, two steps leading up to it. There is a couch about four and a half feet from the TV, soft plush cushions strewn in the corners, each little pillow a different size and shape. If you pass the den you see the first door on your right is the downstairs bathroom, and the first doorway to the left is the way into the kitchen, the second arch goes through to the dining room. The back patio on the first floor enters to the backyard, which is surrounded by a tall, mellow, orange-brown wooden fence. To the far left corner is the shed, far right corner has my treehouse, and on center stage of my backyard is a nice, blue, in ground pool. Of course, we don't normally swim in it because of the beach but it's always a good place to splash around in during the jellyfish season. Three people got stung last year, and one was allergic. I thought of my green backyard surrounded by the safety of shrubs and fences, my totally awesome house, and my very own bathroom... Then I wondered where Riku would be sleeping. I started to get out of the car and grab groceries with my dad while Riku stood there, waiting for my dad to lead him inside. No... The nursery. And that means he will be sharing MY bathroom, using MY toilet and MY shower, mucking it all up with Riku cooties. I cringed at the thought and followed my dad to the front door, Riku walking a few feet behind me.  
Today was Mom's day off, and Dad wanted to surprise her with a son. He opened the door.  
"Aerith, I'm home- and I got a surprise for you!" he said. I slipped inside and mom walked through from the kitchen, wiping her hands with a small towel.  
"What is it?" she asked, brown braid swinging back and forth, red ribbons bouncing lightly as she walked. Her gentle green eyes looked at dad, mostly blank but I could see the hurt in them.  
"Honey, this is Riku. I've adopted him. I have to go in tomorrow for a little more paperwork but I hope you'll like him as much as I have in the half hour I've known him in," Dad said, smiling happily as Riku shyly stepped into sight. Mom's eyes lit up a little like I haven't seen in years and she smiled warmly at Riku and rushed forward to hug him.  
"Hello, Riku... Welcome to our home, and hopefully we can make it yours, too," she said and pulled back to look him in the eyes. "My name is Aerith but you can call me 'Mom' if you like," she said good-naturedly. Riku smiled at her pleasantly.  
"Thank you, 'Mom'," he said.  
"It might take some time to get all of the baby stuff out but we have a room with a bed for you to sleep in. And I promise it's not all girly, either- we painted it tan when we were preparing for... For..." she said, still smiling but starting to cry. She couldn't talk any more and dipped her head into silent sobs. "I-I-I'm s-sorry, Riku," she managed. Riku wrapped his arms around her.  
"It's okay. I understand," he said softly, and she hugged him. He was such a suck-up! I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen, setting all the groceries down on the counter island. Dad came in, soon, Mom and Riku following close. I started putting things away.  
"Don't worry about it, Sora- why don't you go show Riku his room?" Mom asked sweetly, her hands on Riku's shoulders. He smiled at me.  
"C'mon, brother- you can show me my room and tell me what kind of sports you're into. You look like a jumper, am I right?" Riku said, smiling widely like we were suddenly best friends.  
"Sure," I said glumly and walked past him, not caring whether he followed or not. I walked towards the stairs and turned the corner to get to the first stair. Then I walked up the seven steps to get to the halfway point to turn around and go up the remaining ten stairs. I heard steps behind me, so I knew he was following. I walked to the nursery door, a room I thought I'd never approach since the playroom days had ended. I twisted the knob, opening a door to a room that any new baby might like.  
"There. YOUR room. Have fun," I said and continued down the hall as he stepped towards the doorway. Then he looked at me.  
"Where's your room?" he asked.  
"That's none of your business," I said, opening my door and walking in. I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling with its hundreds of glow in the dark stars painted on it. I knew they were there even though I couldn't see them yet. You could only see them if you had the room darkened. I felt my soft blue comforter and reached up to feel my ultra-fluffy pillow. My room was light blue, almost the same color as my comforter but the comforter was lighter. My room was a little messy, clothes and various items strewn about. Then I saw Riku peek around my doorway.  
"Your room is bigger than mine... And more color-coordinated. It's nice," he said.  
"What do you want?" I asked roughly.  
"I was just curious, you know... I've never been in a house like this before..."  
"Yay, you. Get out of my room." His eyes glinted maliciously.  
"But I'm not in your room," he said teasingly.  
"Go away, then," I replied. He shrugged carelessly.  
"Whatever," he said and walked away. I ran to the door and shut it as soon as he was gone and started rummaging through my closet for my swim trunks. I found my red ones and took off my crimson on white plaid-like patterned button up shirt that I had left unbuttoned to reveal the white shirt I had underneath. I left the t-shirt on and kicked off my blue converse sneakers and slipped out of my faded blue jeans with frayed ankles. I took off my navy blue boxers and slipped on my trunks and started hunting through some of my junk piles for my purple and green flip-flops. The bathroom door opened and Riku peeked through.  
"So THAT'S where this door goes," he said cheerfully. I grabbed a broken phone I once-upon-a-time had used from my floor.  
"Get OUT!" I yelled and threw it at him. He dodged it and it bounced off the wall, sending little chips of plastic onto my white bathroom floor. He snickered and closed the door. I grimaced and just stuck with my dark blue sandals instead. I grabbed a towel from my floor and shook some of the crumbs off of it. I recognized it as the beach towel I had had a picnic with Kairi on three days ago. I draped it over my shoulder, put on my dark-tinted sunglasses and my bottle of tanning lotion and left my room. As I was getting about five steps away from the stairs, Riku's door opened.  
"Tanning lotion, Sora? I thought only girls obsessed with tans."  
"Hey! I don't keep my perfect sun-kissed skin color by just swimming- if girls obsess over tans they'll obsess over my perfect one- over the summer, I've had five girls ask me about my perfect skin, so shut up," I said as if any of that mattered. I could feel myself flushed with embarrassment.  
"Wow, five. That's what, like three percent of the island's female population?"  
"Leave me alone," I griped before going downstairs. I tripped on the fifth step, tumbled a way, and hit the corner of the halfway point.  
"Sora, honey you gotta watch out- if you keep falling like that you might hurt yourself or break the railing," my mom said from the kitchen doorway. I could hear the TV going- it was football or something. I got up and kept going, straightening one of the spikes of my light chocolate-brown hair, a trait I got from my mother. My eyes, I got from my dad. I walked out the front door, passing the den and noting the sport I was hearing was soccer, not football.  
"Great... Riku's gonna do something, I just know it..." I muttered. Then I trotted down the steep hill to the beach. I set out my towel, took off my shoes and sunglasses, and put the lotion on top of that. Then I ran into the waves and swam for a while before returning to my towel and taking off my shirt. I rolled it up to lay on once I had my lotion finished. I spread some to coat my chest, arms, and shoulders. Then one of the cute girls from school came by and complimented my tan. She had brown hair, green eyes...  
"Nice tan," she commented.  
"Thanks," I said and smiled.  
"What's your secret?" she asked.  
"Well, if you'll help me get some tanning lotion on my back I'll tell you," I offered.  
"Sure," she said excitedly and I lay down while she smeared it on my back. What was her name again... Oh, yeah- Olette.  
"So what do you do?" she asked.  
"I let angels spread the lotion on my back," I said. She blushed and bit her finger to hold back a smile. I grinned and continued. "I actually use that brand of lotion and sit out in the sun for about forty-five minutes at this time of day every two days. I come out to the beach every day, though."  
"Hehe!" she giggled flirtatiously. "I know what you mean- the sun out here is perfect for tanning," she said sweetly. "Well, my friends are calling- I'd better go. Thanks for the tip, cutie!" she said, getting up and running towards a couple of boys, one with crazy spiked blonde hair, blue eyes and a black and white checkered swimsuit, one sorta pudgy with a sweatband around his forehead that spiked up his black hair, and one with wavy slicked back dirty blonde hair who was screaming at the other blonde boy. Nearby, a blonde girl who was part of their group was shyly watching the other boys who were trash talking each other. I supposed they were about to play a game and started arguing over who was better. I knew all of them- Naminé was a really cute girl in my class who was always quiet and doodling (though I would never date her for more than one reason), Pence was the slightly chubby one who liked to eat and was really friendly and upbeat, Olette was a girl in our class who liked to talk, Roxas was my cousin and Naminé's twin brother, and Hayner was the arrogant, loud mouthed little brother to Demyx, who was going into his junior year this year. Demyx was a really friendly, hyperactive, clumsy guy who dreamed of hitting it big with a garage band of his. He lived just down the street from me with his brother and dad, and though I didn't know his mom, his dad, Cid, was pretty nice... Until you insulted his cooking.  
After my forty-five minutes in the sun I went back to the house, passing Demyx and his gang... Well, it was actually Axel's gang, but still. Marluxia glared at me (never a friendly guy), Zexion kept his nose in a book, Demyx was singing an out-of-tune song while he strummed at his Sitar, which, amazingly, was electric and could be plugged into an amplifier, and Axel was just walking at the head of the pack and popped a bubble he had blown from the gum he was chewing. I waited for them to pass and wondered how a popular guy like Demyx and a nerd like Zexion had gotten mixed in with two rebels like Axel and Marluxia. They probably used Zexion for homework and Demyx to keep morale up. Of course the homework thing confused me since Axel and Marluxia were out of school and have been for years now. Demyx played on the basketball team, and that was the only sport he participated in other than track.  
I walked to my house to find Riku and my dad on the couch, excitedly waiting for their favorite team to make a touchdown. The guy crossed into the end-zone or whatever and chunked the ball at the ground and started a victory jig while Riku and my dad jumped up, spilling popcorn on the floor as both shouted 'YEAAAAH! GO SHARKS!', which just happened to be the team the islands had. As I walked towards the stairs they high fived and Dad picked up the bowl from the floor while Riku just grabbed the bowl of Chex-Mix from the coffee table. I scowled and went upstairs and went to my room, grabbing my blue pajama shorts and my darker blue t-shirt with a star on the from that I sleep in and went into the bathroom once I dumped my lotion and sunglasses on my bed. I threw the towel on the floor of my room and closed the bathroom door, and locked both. I showered and dried my hair, watching as the spikes just naturally kind of bounced back into place once dry. I took a nap, seeing as how it was only three in the afternoon and dinner wouldnt be ready for another three hours. Mom had started me on a school-night sleeping schedule so I'd adjust to waking up early better. I was never a morning person, anyway.

I woke up later and it was about fifteen minutes from when dinner is usually ready when I heard a knock on my door.  
"Come in," I said habitually and regretted it. Riku stepped into my room and I scowled.  
"Mom says dinner will be ready in about five minutes," he said.  
"Sure. Thanks. Get out," I said flatly.  
"Look, Sora... I think we got off on the wrong foot... I'd like to bury the hatchet. Okay? I know you may not relish the thought of having to share with me, but I don't want to be a bother here... So... Truce?" he asked, holding out his hand. I hesitated and took it.  
"Truce," I agreed, a little irritated. He smiled and we heard Mom call from downstairs. We started walking towards the stairs and we stopped.  
"You first- after all, this is your house," he said, bowing a little bit respectfully. Maybe a brother isn't so bad... I started walking forward and didn't notice the foot sticking out until it was too late and I was falling down the stairs.  
"Oops," I heard Riku mumble demonically with a giggle. "Oh, no! Sora!" he then called out, playing an innocent act. My mom ran out of the kitchen when I had come to a stop at the halfway point, as usual.  
"You bastard!" I shouted towards the top of the stairs, which got an angry outburst from Mom and Dad of 'Sora!'. "You tripped me!" I accused.  
"What are you talking about? You were just running and I tried to stop you!" Riku said, playing hurt.  
"Sora, apologize- NOW," my dad said. "You do not swear at people!"  
"But he-" I protested.  
"Sora, APOLOGIZE NOW!" Dad fumed.  
"I'm sorry, Riku," I muttered spitefully.  
"Now calm down and eat. Just because Riku was there when you fell doesn't mean he tripped you. You're just blaming him because you don't like him, which is rude because he's your brother and you're supposed to love him. Besides, you fall down the stairs all the time," my dad said, irritated. He and mom went into the kitchen as Riku started trotting down the stairs. As he stepped over me, he grinned impishly then stuck his tongue out and trotted into the kitchen. I got up and followed, rubbing my head where I'd bumped it on the railing. The next three or four years of my life is definitely going to be hell...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Riku- 2, Sora- 0  
Riku  
I looked into the kitchen and noted where Aerith and Cloud sat to formulate where Sora usually sat at the dinner table.  
"Riku, where do you want to sit?" Aerith asked politely, standing up to make a plate for me. I figured Sora probably sat in the corner, so I walked over there shyly to make it seem like it made sense to sit in the corner. Why do I do this? I don't know. I guess I like to drive him crazy. The way he looked at me the first time I saw him I knew he hated the very though of me near him. I took offense to that and natually retaliated. Only this retaliation would be drawn out. Why? I have plenty of time to. Besides, I was having fun. As Aerith brought me a plate of roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas I watched Sora walk into the kitchen, rubbing his head and looking a little ticked off. He looked up and I instantly knew I had the right seat- he glared at me first thing when he saw me.  
"Dad! He's in my spot!" he complained.  
"Sora, leave him alone- he's not hurting you," Cloud said. 'Oh, but I am...' I thought, keeping a poker face.  
"I'm sorry, brother- I can move if you want," I offered. He glared at me and glanced at his dad.  
"No, Riku- you stay there. You got here, first," Cloud said, patting my shoulder. He was a really cool guy. While Sora was at the beach he showed me his shiny bright red convertible. It was a nice car, I'll admit- sleek, shiny, and it had a really good amount of horsepower, I was told.  
"But he tr-" Sora started in protest.  
"He did not TRIP YOU! You FELL. There's a difference," Cloud griped in response, cutting Sora off.  
"I fell because he tripped me," Sora griped back.  
"Sora, go eat in your room," Cloud ordered. Aerith was just setting Sora's plate on the table when she slowly handed it to him, a pitiful look on her face.  
"I'm sorry, baby," she whispered to him and kissed his forehead. He turned around and shuffled upstairs. I felt kinda bad for him. But he has all sorts of things- his own computer, he had his own bathroom, he has probably had countless cell phones and a loving mom and dad. He was one lucky bastard. I ate my food, really enjoying having a good, home cooked meal rather than some sort of oatmeal that looked like it had already been eaten once. When I was done, I even rinsed my own plate off, something Aerith seemed to like.  
"Aww, you didn't have to do that, Riku... I could've done it," she said.  
"No, I'm fine. It's not often I get to have it this good. This is a very nice home," I said sweetly.  
"You're so well-mannered! I'm surprised nobody has adopted you yet!" she said, then covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to offend you or anything, sweetheart!"  
"It's fine... I actually have been adopted before but they got arrested... They were caught with a massive meth lab in their basement and I went back to the orphanage. Then along came you guys. I really feel blessed to be part of your family," I said. Of course I was sucking up- that would make me the angel in any situation I get myself in. So once I washed my dish I went upstairs to check on my bag- if Sora wanted to get even, he could easily do that by exposing what I've been doing with the little cans inside my backpack. Seeing it was still hidden where I left it, I sighed in releif. It was cool- Sora was smaller than me, too. I may have been about a head taller and much stronger, but he could easily get me in trouble if I didn't watch it. I put my bag back in its hiding spot and sat on the bed. It was light purple, and could be considered a girly color but if you saw me sitting on it, you'd be all like 'oh my god, what a cool color!'. I went into the bathroom so I could shower and tried the door and found it locked. I knocked and had no response. I circled around to Sora's room and pushed the already cracked-open door wide enough to see the bathroom. The door was open, and I heard a fork clatter on a plate.  
"What do YOU want?" Sora asked. I looked at him sitting cross-legged on his bed as he crossed his arms, half-eaten plate of food in front of him.  
"Bathroom," I said. "My door is locked," I added.  
"I'll get it when I feel like it. Besides, you called a truce and you tripped me."  
"Yeah? So what if I did?"  
"It's mean! You called a truce!"  
"I had my fingers crossed- like it or not I'm going to that bathroom," I said, then dashed across his room and slammed the door behind me and locked it.  
"Riku! Get out!" he yelled, banging on the door.  
"Then keep the door unlocked unless you're using it, will ya? Then I wouldn't have to do that!" I called through the door.  
"You're a jerk!" he complained.  
"So are you- I guess we're even, yeah?"  
"No!"  
"Just eat. Mom wants the plate soon, ya know."  
"Fine. But don't come into my room!"  
"Deal, but only if you don't lock the door when you're not in here." I heard him sigh angrily and sit on his bed. I grinned and unlocked the door that goes to my bedroom and I grabbed my only other clothes- my pajamas and an extra pair of underwear. My pajamas were just a pair of pale jade green pants. I lost the shirt a long time ago, and have only recently been able to wear the pants without tying a cord around my waist to hold them up. Of course, they still sagged pretty low on my hips, but still- they at least didn't fall off. I showered off, the water actually staying warm the whole time. At the orphanage it got cold halfway through the shower, which usually led to getting out early. I picked up a hairbrush from the counter. I wasn't sure wether or not to use it, but he didn't have to find out... So I brushed through all the tangles in my hair and smiled at how much more silvery my hair was now that it was clean. I pulled the little clump of hair out of the brush that had accumulated and threw it in the trash. I dressed in my pajama pants and dried my hair. Wow- Sora is obsessed with his appearance. Tanning lotion, hair dryer, three different brushes, expensive shampoo... No wonder he thinks he's all that. I looked at the stickers on the faucets... Then I grinned. I was going to get him... I switched the hot and cold stickers and hoped he didn't notice they switched. I unlocked the doors and opened both a little. Then I went into my room, turning off the bathroom light as I did. I was watching for Sora's bedroom light to go off. After about an hour of just laying in my bed and waiting, there was a knock on my door. I looked up.  
"Come in," I called. Aerith came in slowly.  
"Hey, Riku... I came to say goodnight and sort of explain a few things. Did I disturb you?" she asked.  
"Nah. It's fine. What do you need, Mom?" I asked, sitting up. She sat down and pulled my head onto her shoulder.  
"Well... About Sora... He has a pretty good heart, and it's in the right place. He just... Doesn't like change. So it's nothing against you. He might also be a little jealous because he's never really had a very strong bond with Cloud... You just kind of hit it off with him and it might've made Sora accept the LGM syndrome."  
"LGM?" I asked while she petted my hair. I'll admit I felt a little awkward, but there's always something about a mother's gentle touch that makes you sit and bear it.  
"Little Green Monster. He'll have to accept you in the house at some point... Does that make sense? He will be a good brother once both of you get settled into the whole 'brothers' thing. He will have to learn to love you at some point. And honestly, I'm actually happy you're here... It's really helped to have that other presence in the house that should've been there a few years ago. You've filled a hole in mine and Cloud's and Sora's life that should already be filled. And for that, I thank you. I'll take you furniture shopping tomorrow, and get you a desk for your room, then we'll go register you at school when Cloud gets home with the adoption documents. How does that sound?" she asked.  
"That sounds good," I said.  
"Great," she said, wrapping her arms around me. "Good night, sweetheart. It's great to have you here."  
"Goodnight, Mom. It's great to be here," I said, hugging her back before she released me and got up. She smiled at me before leaving my room, closing the door behind her. Then I heard her speaking softly to Sora in the next room a few seconds later. I crept towards the bathroom door to listen closer.  
"... And we will always love you no matter what comes into this house. You just need to share with Riku. You know he needs acceptance into a stable family. And I know you don't like change but you need to learn how to stand strong and accept it, because things will be changing the rest of your life. I love you, baby," she said softly, and I could barely glimpse her stroking Sora's forehead while he lay in bed, covers drawn up to his chest.  
"Mom, will you sing to me?" he asked.  
"Sure, baby," she cooed. Then she started to hum a pattern that could've been any song. After a few minutes, Sora's eyes slid closed and she got up, taking the empty plate with her. The lights went off and I decided I'd pull this prank some other time. 'A mom... I wish my mom was still alive,' I thought and crept back to my bed. I turned off the lamp on the bedside table. It was in the shape of a giraffe, but it had this fire-colored glow that calmed me down. That color in light was always soothing to me for some reason. At about midnight, the bathroom light came on, perfectly shining in my face and waking me up along with the echoey bathroom sound of someone pissing. Then Sora washed his hands and went to his room. I waited about fifteen minutes before I went into his room and set his alarm clock for two a.m. I went back to bed and two hours later, I was awakened by the alarm and listened as Sora was, too. He looked at his clock and I heard it hit the wall.  
"Damn clock!" he griped. I rolled over, smiling. I couldn't wait until tomorrow when he took his bath. But until then the score is Riku- 2, Sora- 0.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Icy Needles and Benchpresses  
Sora  
I woke up again at eleven in the morning. I really slept in today. I looked at the alarm clock near my wall. That stupid thing woke me up at two in the morning! I got out of bed and walked to my closet.  
"Let's see... Uniform... Okay, that's there... Shirt... Pants... Swim trunks... That's close enough to pants. Okay, now... Where's that shirt!" I asked my closet. I began rummaging in the piles of clothes on the floor. I had seen this shirt yesterday when I was looking for my flip-flops! That's when I pulled up my other purple and green flip flop.  
"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered. I tossed it over where I had put its match yesterday, and kept looking. I ended up settling for a pastel green shirt and slipped on my light blue swim trunks. My red ones were currently in the dirty laundry hamper and my green ones are MIA. I slipped on my purple and green flip flops and went downstairs.  
"Sora, your pancakes are in the microwave... Here, I'll heat them up for you. I need to go to the mall for a few things... Do you want to come? Riku has to because I'm buying to fill his closet," my mom said, stepping into the kitchen doorway and then going right back in.  
"Speaking of, where is he?" I asked suspiciously. Maybe he was out poisoning our water... Or rather, mine.  
"He is out in the shed. Your dad is there, too. He just got home about ten minutes ago and took Riku to 'pump some iron'," she said, quoting with her fingers.  
"Huh?" I asked.  
"They're lifting weights. After we go shopping we are going to haul the stuff back, wait for the deliveries, then I'm going to take Riku and get him registered for school."  
"Wait... What school is he going to?" I asked cautiously.  
"Sunset Hill High. You guys are going to get along great. You can help each other with your homework, and Sora, you can introduce him to some of your friends," she said cheerfully. I felt like my heart had stopped. No... Not Sunset Hill... Anything but that. He will totally find so many new ways to torture me there! I stood there, internally screaming that this could not be real. This could not be real! The 'ding' of the microwave brought heavenly smells of pancakes, butter, bacon, and eggs to my nose and pulled me right out of my shock. Being angry can wait- there's food to be eaten! Mom put it on the counter island and I shot onto one of the stools and grabbed the syrup. I smeared the butter all over the both of the pancakes, and poured an ocean of syrup on it. Then I started chowing down. I greedily snatched up one of five strips of bacon and twirled it in the runoff syrup from the pancakes, which were now partially eaten. I helped myself to the eggs, as well. Honestly, with the way this woman feeds me I'm surprised I'm not three hundred pounds. When I had finished the large plate my mom had given me she hugged me and took it to rinse. I trotted over to the cookie jar in the corner of the counter. It was in the shape of a cat, and it was light blue with a pink nose, a white face, and white paws. I reached in and grabbed a cookie. Mom made sure she had this thing full of chocolate chip cookies since I robbed it often. I bit into it. It was one of the hard ones. I didn't mind- it was all good either way. I walked to the back door, which was made of glass and was surrounded by glass. I think mom referred to it as 'French glass' doors and windows. Upstairs it was the same. I twisted the shiny gold-colored knob and went outside. I walked towards the shed, which had an awning next to it that had the mower and the watering hose along with other lawn maintenance tools. The shed itself had all my dad's weights in it. I noticed that music was coming out the door, which was wide open and I could hear the clanking of the weights as the were used. I peeked in the doorway and was surprised to find that my dad was the one counting the reps and not doing them. Riku was on the bench press with one of my dad's tank tops on and he had a pair of my dad's work-out shorts on, too. He was hardly even sweating and he was bench-pressing 125 pounds!  
"Oh, good- Sora, you're here. Keep counting the reps will ya? Riku's at 90 now," he said, getting up and patting my back as I counted a 91 and a 92. I took dad's seat and kept counting until I reached 100 but Riku kept going. I kept mental count in my head.  
"How do you do that? I mean, aren't you tired?" I asked. 104, 105, 106...  
"No," he said, grunting as he lifted it. 108, 109, 110...  
"What's your goal supposed to be, anyway?" I asked. 112, 113, 114...  
"One-fifteen," he said, lifting it onto the rack and sitting up. "What's the deal- all of a sudden you're my work out partner?"  
"Dad left me here and I'm not allowed to act up in his shed... Last time he was making me use that thing," I said, pointing to the bench press, "I started getting mad when I couldn't lift it and I yelled about how hard it was. This is the first time I've been let in here since then, and that was four months ago."  
"Oh... Well, since you can't act up in here, I gotta count for you. Cloud said he needed me to count chin-ups when he gets around to it but since you sorta replaced him- to the bar!" he said, snapping and pointing to my worst enemy- the chin-up bar. I had never been able to do a proper chin-up, and if there was one thing I hated more than Riku, it was chin-ups. "Well, go," he said. "The chin-ups aren't going to do themselves," Riku added. I got up reluctantly and stood before- insert dramatic music- the Bar. I reached up- Dad would kill me if I said 'no' to a work out. He is such a fitness geek minus the healthy food- the guy eats whatever he wants. But once 'exercise' is mentioned, he is all up on that like he was superglued to it. I reached up and flexed and pulled and stuck my chin out. While I struggled for about two minutes, Riku just laughed until I gave up and let go. I landed on my butt.  
"Giving up already?" he asked. Then he stood next to me and pushed me aside. "Move over- I'm gonna show you how a man does things," he said as if I were seven. He reached up and, seeming like he only barely flexed one muscle to do it, his chin along with half his neck went over the bar. He kept repeating it as I watched the muscles in his arm flex under his firm skin.  
"See, Sora? It's not hard. Keep working out and maybe you'll be able tor rise an inch, yeah?" he said, completing seven chin-ups in that one sentence. He dropped once my count reached fifteen.  
"Why are YOU giving up? Tired?" I asked.  
"No. I was moving over to give you another try. If you want, we can work on your strength with the hand weights... You are really weak, you know."  
"Hey! I'm not that weak!"  
"Puh-leaze, Sora- you can't even do one chin up, and your dad told me you couldn't bench anything." I knew he had me. I silently cursed my dad and again struggled to lift my chin over the Bar. Riku just laughed and laughed until I gave up.  
"Alright, Sora- hand weights. If you can't curl ten pounds, then I know exactly what to do."  
"What... What are you gonna do?" I asked, as he dropped the 10 weight into my right hand. Oh, man this thing was kind of heavy, and him dropping it didn't help...  
"Let me worry about that... Just do the curls- five total." I looked at the weight in my hand. I sure hope I can do this... I pulled, but it only raised about three inches. I tried again and ended up pulling a muscle.  
"Arrggh!" I squealed, dropping the weight and clutching my arm. "Oww! I think I pulled something!" Riku picked up the weight and put it on the rack.  
"You really are pathetic- that was only ten pounds!" he said teasingly, walking back to me. He stood about a foot away, making me a little uncomfortable.  
"Let me see," he said more softly, beyond his bragging. He took my arm carefully. I frowned. What is with this guy? He teases me and acts like a total jerk one minute, then the next he's all fake-friendly... Now he seems genuinely nice. He prodded around with his finger on my arm until I winced, then he pressed carefully in that spot, making me cringe a little.  
"Just pulled. Relax your arm," he instructed. "Come on, it will hurt less," he said like he was talking a cat out of a tree. I slowly relaxed my arm completely. He went to the mini-fridge in the corner, which was where dad kept ice packs and Gatorade for working out. Riku grabbed an ice pack and brought it to me, holding it to the sore spot on my arm.  
"Here... I got a better idea. Next time, you'll mostly count, but I'll expect you to at least take the elastic band and stretch with it, okay?" he said. For the first time since Riku got here, I felt really cared for by a man in the house. It was really creepy.  
"Okay..." I said. I felt like a sissy, now.  
"You didn't do your curls, Sora," he said, sounding like he had something up his sleeve.  
"Huh?"  
"You know what this means, right?"  
"N-no?" I said nervously.  
"Penalty."  
"PENALTY?!" I asked. It was weird because my arm was still relaxed and going numb with the feeling of icy needles stabbing into the sore spot of my arm, but the rest of me was tensing up.  
"Mm-hmm... THINK FAST!" he said, taking my limp arm and slapping my face with it.  
"Ow! Hey!" I said angrily, tensing up and bunching up my fists, something I immediately regretted and stopped doing when pain shot through my arm. I growled at him while he laughed.  
"I told you- penalty. There it was. You might wanna be able to do curls next time, yeah?" he asked, still laughing.  
"Yeah," I said hatefully. He put the ice pack back on my arm.  
"Keep that there and go take a hot shower. It has the same kind of effect as one of those IcyHot things. 'Kay?" he said, patting my back while I held the ice pack.  
"Fine... Don't you need someone in here to keep you from getting hurt?" I asked.  
"Nah. I'm done here. Since when have you worried about me getting hurt?"  
"I'm not worried about YOU- I'm worried about ME. My dad would kill me if I left a guy alone to lift and something happened." I went inside, Riku following close behind. Before he started the stairs, my mom stopped him.  
"Riku, you ought to take a shower so I can take you clothes shopping, okay?" she asked.  
"Sure thing, Mom," he said. I continued on my way and went to the shower. I would keep wearing these clothes until my evening bath- I was going to go to the beach, anyway. I heard the mower start up and I knew dad was grooming the lawn. I turned the hot water valve, but something just didn't feel right... Wasn't the red sticker supposed to be on the other one? I brushed it off and got in, screaming at the top of my lungs and jumping to the back corner of the shower when the icy needles of spray came pelting me from the shower nozzle. The worst part was, I had trapped myself on the opposite side of the shower from where the faucet handles were. I tried to dodge around the spray and twisted the blue-stickered handle. I heard Riku laughing from his room.  
"Hot shower, huh, Sora?" he called, choking back more laughter. So. Not. Cool.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Umm... Obsessive, Much?  
Sora  
Later after I got back from a swim on the beach and ice-cream at my tree with Kairi, who I'd met at the beach today and we hung out, I took my evening shower at two in the afternoon, dressed in my night clothes, and got on the computer. I was on for about three hours when Riku and mom got home at five. They had all sorts of clothes and, to my horror, three Sunset Hill High uniforms. I had once had three, but I only had one entire one hanging in my closet, and the rest were in my floor somewhere.  
"Sora, when I told them Riku was your new brother, they decided to also stitch his name on the tag, too. Now you guys will know who's is who's when I do laundry," Mom said cheerfully as I turned dramatically in my office chair. I was really mad at Riku right now and didn't really enjoy the thought of going to school with him the day after tomorrow.  
"I'm excited, Sora- we can make all sorts of friends Monday... Maybe you could introduce me to a few of yours," Riku said, full of false enthusiasm and cheer.  
"Yeahhh... Mee toooo," I said lazily and sarcastically. I really don't like this.  
"What're you doing?" Riku asked, putting the things he carried in on the couch and walking behind me.  
"Nothing," I said evasively and closed the window I had open. I was actually on YouTube watching videos of cats. I know it sounds girly, but kittens being cute and cats doing stupid things always had the power to cheer me up sufficiently. But Riku kind of ruined that when he came over. He leaned over me and put his hand over mine on the mouse.  
"Let me see," he insisted, clicking on the Internet and attempting to go for my search history.  
"Cut it out!" I insisted, trying to fight the mouse moving for Riku. Of course, he was so much stronger than me and was winning. He clicked on Veiw Search History and I was powerless. Then I noticed how close he was. His chin was level to my eye as he scrutinized my search history and curiously clicked on a YouTube search. His mouth twitched into a smirk as he waited for the video to load.  
"Really, Sora? Cat videos?" he asked. I could feel his voice vibrating in his throat as he talked though I wasn't even touching him except where his arm extended over my shoulder to the mouse and where his collarbone was touching my neck. He clicked into the search button and started typing.  
"Why watch cats when the song parodies are so much funnier?" he asked. Then he clicked on one. I had no choice but to watch the video.  
"I don't watch cat videos... Mom does," I insisted.  
"Pfft... As if- this computer is labeled 'Sora's Computer'. Knowing how you are, you're the only one who uses it. I also know there's a computer in Cloud's office that he and Aerith both use. I'm not an idiot," he scoffed. I just blushed. I was caught.  
"What, no objections? I guess you know that I'm right, then," Riku said.  
"Why do you treat me like this? You pick on me, then you treat me all buddy-buddy when Mom and Dad are looking, then if I get hurt you're nice for a short time. What's wrong with you?" I asked angrily.  
"I'm treating you the way I used to treat my little brother... He died with my parents..."  
"You had a brother?" I asked, surprised. I would've thought he had only child blood and was trying to knock me out of the way.  
"Yeah... It was a housefire. The only reason I'd survived was because I did something I wasn't supposed to."  
"What'd you do?" I asked, suspicious he started the fire.  
"Well, my friend wanted me to go camping with him and his family, and my dad said no. They were going to leave at about ten at night because they could set up camp at sunrise and fish, because it was about a eight hour drive from my friend's house. Well, I snuck out at nine and ran to my friend's house. Well, I got back from camping for one day, and my entire house was burned to the ground. Firefighters were still cleaning up, so I asked where my mom and dad and brother were, and they said nobody made it alive... Then I went to the orphanage and have been there since. It's been about nine years since then..." Riku said, and turned away from me, but not before I felt something warm and moist soak through the shirt on my shoulder. I turned around and Riku was walking down the hall. Was he... Crying? I followed him to his room. He went inside and closed the door behind him. I entered after him and shut it behind me.  
"Are you... crying?" I asked, still shocked.  
"No," he said bluntly, but he couldn't hide it. I still saw the wet streak on his cheek.  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
"Why do you care?" he asked coldly. "You hate me, anyway. Why bother with the act?"  
"Because... I want to know," I said, unable to think of anything else.  
"Yeah... Go ahead and stick your nose into my business. I should be dead in the ashes with my mom and dad... And my brother. If I hadn't disobeyed, I wouldn't be here, or maybe they would've. Hell, they were probably only burned alive because they were looking for me!" Riku said angrily.  
"You can't blame yourself for their death... I mean, what if they were looking for you? It would kind of be their fault for sticking around. They may not have wanted to leave a child, but they could've saved themselves and your brother. You were fine where you were. So it's not your fault," I said. He whirled around and pushed me on the ground.  
"It is my fault, dammit! If I hadn't run off we could've gotten out a whole family, not worried that anyone was in the house!" he said, blinking back tears and his fists clenched. I could see the muscles in his arms tightened, ready to lash out if angered. Then they loosened and Riku turned away.  
"Get out, Sora. Go back to your cat videos," he said bluntly. I sat there. "Fine... I'll go," he said, grabbing his backpack from under the bed and starting toward the door.  
"Riku, don't run away!" I pleaded.  
"I'm not running away, stupid- I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me," he said bluntly and left. I sat up on my knees and stared stupidly at the doorway.  
"Sora! Come turn off your computer!" Mom called from downstairs. I got up and started downstairs. I stumbled and went tumbling into the corner of the halfway point again.  
"Sora, baby, you need to watch your step, okay?" my mom said, walking to the kitchen doorway, drying her hands on a hand towel. I watched TV for about two hours when mom called for dinner. I went into the kitchen, Dad following closely, still in work out clothes. He was probably working out, then mowed, and went to the garage to admire his car. We all sat at the table and waited.  
"Where's Riku?" Dad asked.  
"I don't know... He told me he was going for a walk and has been gone for two hours," I said innocently.  
"Sora, what did you do?" he asked.  
"Nothing!" I insisted.  
"What if he got abducted?" Mom asked, worried.  
"I don't know... I'll talk to you in a little while. I'm going to look for him," Dad said, standing up and heading to the door. I followed, mom close behind. She looked worried out of her mind when things started running through my head- where did he go? What's he doing? Is he okay? Why do I care about him? Does he need me? Is it a girl? Or even a friend's house?  
Just as I was thinking about what had happened to him, the door opens before my dad even touches the knob. Riku was standing there, bag on his shoulder and looking at us.  
"Riku! You're okay!" I cheered and ran to him. Then I stopped short about a foot and a half, wondering why I was so excited and what I was going to do when I ran over here.  
"Why are you glad? I thought you hated me," Riku said, looking slightly confused.  
"Er- I do, I do... I'm just glad you're okay because now I can eat without everyone freaking out... and... yeah," I said. "Okay, let's go! I wanna eat!" I said, waving to the kitchen, uncomfortable with the silence and stares.  
"Well... Um... Okay, I guess since everyone's here, we can eat, then," Dad said, breaking the silence, much to my relief. So we went into the kitchen and ate our dinner. Then mom shooed Riku and me upstairs to bed while she cleaned up. I sat on my bed, super curious on 1.) what Riku had been doing, and 2.) why I even bothered to care. Maybe I felt bad for him... I heard a tap on my door.  
"Come in," I said, still as a habit and Riku walked in... But I didn't hate it. I didn't like it, either, but I had some things to ask him.  
"Hey..." he said. "How's your arm?" he asked quietly.  
"It's okay," I replied quietly, taking note of the calm house preparing for bed. He came in and closed the door.  
"Sorry for pushing you, earlier... I just... Started getting mad. I lose my temper often, and I didn't want to hit you."  
"It's okay... I shouldn't have been talking..."  
"Maybe you're right about my family... But you and Aerith and Cloud are doing a good job filling that gap."  
"Yeah... Honestly, I think you're doing a good job filling my family's gap, too... It's kind of like fate arranged our tragedies to line up and make it better."  
"Yeah... Well... Goodnight, Sora... I... Just goodnight, I guess," he said, about to leave.  
"Wait!" I said. He paused.  
"What?"  
"I wanted to ask... What were you doing? I have never met a person who takes a walk for two hours at sunset."  
"That's none of your business."  
"Oh..."  
"Why'd you want to know?"  
"I don't know... I guess I was curious? That or I just wanted to figure out how you think. It would make you easier to predict."  
"Heh... Good luck with that," Riku scoffed. "Like I'm gonna let you know when I'll prank you- that takes all the fun out of it!"  
"Do you have any friends?" I asked.  
"Yeah... But that's none of your business, either."  
"Do you know Axel?"  
"Yeah... He was in the orphanage. When he was supposed to be in school, he skipped out and crept around the high school, and after dropping out, eventually picking up a seventeen-year old Marluxia when he was twenty-one, and Marluxia gathered up an eighth grade- Zexion, who was at the time best friends with Demyx. I sort of hung around them when they were in my neighborhood- Demyx told me if I ever get outta there and go to Sunset Hill High, I could sit at the popular table with him, Leon, Yuffie, and whoever they invite. Because they've been there longest next to the seniors who have to sit at the senior's table, they control who comes and goes. I know Leon as one of the guys who hung out with Axel outside of school. They haven't hung out in a while, but that's because sports interferes. Leon is in baseball, basketball, and track. So I got at least two votes in my favor. What about you?" he asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.  
"Yuffie and Leon vouched for me to sit there, too- both because they want me on the track team for my jumping abilities. Yuffie even said she'd try to get a spot for me on the team."  
"Hmm... She asked me if I would be interested in cheerleading- mostly to be a catcher for the flyers. I think I might do it- girls love a nice guy, and joining the cheerleaders would play in my favor even though it's really girly."  
"That sounds cool... I might play basketball... I don't know. I might just stick to track."  
"I know I'm going into football- Demyx is friends with the team captain- I don't know his name, but he's tall, kind of big guy, dark hair, and his family is friends with Roxas's family. I met his little brother Pence once- it was at the mall when I was shopping with your mom. He was there with his little buddies. I even met Roxas's dad- Ventus is a nice guy. You know something- it's funny, and you can call me a liar but Demyx is getting on the football team this year."  
"No!" I said, shocked. Demyx wouldn't last nine seconds on a football field. "But he's already in track and basketball!"  
"I don't know... The guy might be unable to take a good tackle, but he can sure run like hell," Riku pointed out.  
"Yeah... You got a point," I agreed.  
"Hey! You can't really do anything sporty- why don't you try to be the water boy for the football team. All you'd have to do is pass out waters or Gatorade."  
"Yeah... I might do that... But I'm going in for the track team!"  
"Okay, sure. Any other questions?"  
"Yeah... What makes you think you'll get on the football team? You might get hurt," I said.  
"These- muscles, Sora- football takes a strong arm and light feet. I got both and these are hot," he said, flexing his arm. A very visible bit of muscle rose on his arm. Was that really his bicep?! He noticed me staring in awe.  
"Wanna see? Try squeezing it and tell me what you think," he said, turning that side towards me. I timidly grabbed around it and tried to squeeze, but that lump wouldn't move a bit- it was like a rock under his skin!  
"Wow..." was all I could manage.  
"So, what do you think?" he asked.  
"They are pretty hot..." I said, still awed. I noticed the look he was giving me like I had said something weird. "I mean- they're really hard! Like, uh, a rock- yeah! And... yeah," I said, a little flushed. I could not believe I just said that.  
"Well... Anyway... Goodnight, Sora," he said, getting up.  
"Yeah... Goodnight, Riku..." I mumbled. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him as he did. I flopped back on my bed, the memory of how his muscles felt still lingering on my fingertips. He is strong... Definitely football material... Maybe I should join the cheerleading squad, too, to cheer him on at his games and give him water... What would he say to that? I wonder if he'll let me be his work-out partner again... He has really nice muscles- having him as a sort of big brother would be cool- he could totally protect me from bullies! I wonder... Are his legs anywhere near as powerful as his arms? More? I wonder what those muscles feel like... What am I thinking? Every thought in the past five minutes has been all about Riku- what is wrong with me?! I thought to myself: 'Sora, obsessive much?'


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Fish-Pee, Ice Cream, and... That Wasn't Planned  
Sora  
When I finally managed to go to sleep, I still slept lightly- I don't know what was wrong with me, but I was getting scared I was coming down with something. I woke up fairly early the next morning- it was about nine. The earliest I wake up is seven, but that is only on school days when Mom WAKES me up. So it doesn't really count. I went to my closet and dug around for a pair of trunks, Mom walks in with the laundry- YES! She puts the basked of clean, folded clothes on my bed, and my other uniforms are there! I snatched my trunks (the red ones, which were my favorites) and my white t-shirt and hugged her.  
"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I said excitedly. Now I wouldn't be forced to wear the same uniform for days at a time. Then I took the trunks and shirt to the bathroom and changed. I combed through my hair, the spikes still sticking every way they normally do. I brushed my teeth, and took the pee I always did in the morning. When I got back into my room, Mom was still standing there with Riku's little bit of laundry.  
"You're up awful early for you, Sora. Is something wrong?" she asked.  
"No... Nothing's wrong... Just can't sleep anymore. Uh, school has me excited. I can't wait until I get into the High School building- it's so new, you know... Me, just starting high school... I'm just excited, that's all," I said.  
"Well, that's great- but you need to calm down so you can sleep tonight for that big day tomorrow," she said encouragingly. "I can't believe my boy is all grown up..." she continued, leaving the room and getting misty eyed. As soon as my door was shut I rolled my eyes. It's only high school- what's her deal?  
I grabbed my sunglasses and my lotion- today is a skin maintenance day. I looked at my arm. Yeah... Just one more day of sun should be perfect. It would last me a few months, too. Of course, cancer normally would've been the last thing on my mind, but the thought of it suddenly fluttered in when 'months' had. I paused to think a minute... Of course, this was the islands, perfect sun for sunning, but cancer could get anyone... Ten minutes. Then no more until May. It was August now... I should ask Riku. Wait! I wonder... What would Riku look like with a little more color? What would he look like!? He already has beach bod muscles- he needs color to go with it. Also, the color would be good for his wardrobe- the guy needs some style help, too. Now, I was excited to help! I ran through the bathroom and stepped on something hard, which shot out from under me and I fell down. Luckily, my head missed the toilet so I didn't get hurt. I looked at what it was that I'd stepped on- it was that phone. I got up and burst through Riku's door to the bathroom and leapt on him from halfway across the room.  
"Rikuuuu! Get UP, come ON! Riku! Riiiiiiikkuuuuu!" I shouted, jumping on his bed.  
"What the- Sora!" he said, trying to sit up.  
"Come on- Imma take you to the beach!" I called, plopping down on Riku.  
"The beach...? What? Get off!" he said, shoving me. I fell on my back on the floor.  
"Ow," I complained, sitting up. "See me trying to help you be stylish again," I dared, standing up angrily.  
"Huh? What are you talking about? Are you okay?" he asked. "You're acting weird."  
"I came in here to see if you wanted to go to the beach with me," I explained. "You wouldn't fit in very well without being spotted at the beach at least once."  
"Why are you suddenly so concerned about me?" he asked. I stared at him with a big, creepy grin.  
"Because you're my brother and I love you because Mommy said so," I said in a creepy voice. He leaned away from me and stared at me like I was crazy.  
"Fine, just stop looking at me like that," he said stiffly.  
"Okay! Get your swimsuit and a t-shirt, slip on some kind of open shoes and let's go!" I cheered. He sat there and crossed his arms.  
"Get out so I can change," he commanded.  
"Why should I? You never listened to me when I told you to-"  
"GET OUT."  
"Okay," I whimpered, finding the look on his face a little frightening. I went through the bathroom to my room again. Geez- he is NOT a morning person. I grabbed my towel from the floor, picked my lotion from the bed and took my sunglasses from the top of my head and put them on my face. I went to the hallway outside Riku's room and waited. He opened the door a few minutes later. He looked a little upset.  
"Riku, don't worry- we'll eat breakfast before we go anywhere, and you can always nap on the beach- you might want to bring a giant towel, too," I said cheerfully. He narrowed his eyes and turned around. He came back a few seconds later with a beach towel.  
"Sora, are you sure you don't have a fever?" he asked.  
"Yep- let's go eat breakfast!" I cheered.  
"You're awful happy today," he commented under his breath. I trotted down the stairs, tripping over my feet and falling into the corner of the halfway point.  
"Ow," I moaned as Riku stood over me, having followed my fall.  
"You're unbelievable," he muttered, shaking his head before stepping over me. I got up and scrambled down the rest of the stairs, tripping and falling again on my face. Riku was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, head turned and standing still as if he had frozen mid-step just to look back at me... Which he had.  
"Wow," he mouthed, turning and continuing to walk into the kitchen. I smiled feebly at his back. He thought it was cute, I know it. Wait- where the hell did that come from?! I frowned at myself. What was I thinking?! How did that end up in my head? And about my brother of all people!  
"Riku! What are you doing up? You know your dad can't work out on Sundays- he told you that," my mom said. I got up and trotted into the kitchen. She was sitting at the counter island with a cup of coffee.  
"I know- I was just going to go to the beach with Sora," he replied.  
"Oh! That's nice- I'm glad to hear that you two are getting along," Mom said, smiling.  
"Yeah... We are getting along great," Riku said, walking towards the cabinet. He grabbed a Poptart from the cabinet and tossed it to me. I nearly dropped it, and he just shook his head and grabbed another. He tore open the wrapper and took the pastries out. He started out the kitchen.  
"Hey! Where are you going?" I asked, chasing him.  
"To the beach- that's where you wanted to take me, right?" he asked.  
"Oh... Well aren't you in a hurry?" I said a little tauntingly.  
"No. I just like breakfast on the go. Why, do you want to sit down to eat?"  
"N-no," I stammered, almost tripping over a random shoe in the front doorway.  
"Are you going to eat at all?" he asked, chewing on a bite of a now half eaten pair of Poptarts.  
"I'm not hungry. I don't even like Poptarts!" I objected.  
"Then give them away or something," he said. I stuck them in our mailbox, and stuck the thing up. Maybe the mailman'll get the hint of a nice breakfast of chocolate fudge Poptarts. I started trotting down the beach after Riku, who had paused to wait for me.  
"You do realize there's no postal service on Sunday, right?" he asked.  
"Oh... Yeah, I totally knew that," I said, brushing it off. "I just stuck it there to... To..." I hesitated, not really knowing how I should formulate a new excuse.  
"Pfft- you totally forgot it was Sunday," Riku jeered.  
"What!? No I di-"  
"Yes you did- you're a horrible liar, Sora," he said teasingly. Oddly enough, a trill swept through my spine when he said my name.  
"Hmph!" I grunted, crossing my arms under the towel, still holding the tanning lotion. Riku stopped and I just walked past him.  
"Hey, Sora- don't be mad," he pleaded, "you just need to pay more attention." I simply ignored him and lay my towel out on my usual spot. Riku followed my example and sat on his while I kicked off my shoes, took off my sunglasses, set down the lotion, and took off my shirt.  
"What are you doing now?" he asked, watching my face with a large amount of burning concentration.  
"Um... I'm going to swim? Why?" I asked.  
"Just wondering... Lot of people out today," he commented, glancing in the direction of my cousins and their friends.  
"Oh... Yeah. They're always over there playing beach volleyball," I said returning my attention to arranging my things on my towel.  
"Are those guys always sitting over there watching them?"  
"Huh?" I asked, looking towards where he was pointing. Sure enough, Axel's gang was sitting under the patio by all the food stands at a picnic table, watching Roxas and his friends intently.  
"I... Never really noticed that before... Huh," I said. Honestly, it was starting to bug me a little. Axel is an adult- unless Roxas and Naminé's dad is paying him to watch them, he really shouldn't stare like that.  
"Well... Is it okay or not?" Riku asked.  
"I'm not sure... I'll leave them alone for a while. I mean, Demyx is Hayner's big brother so if the other guys ARE trying to do something creepy, Demyx will scream like a girl. He's easily startled- Roxas was telling me about this one time he and Pence had a sleepover at Hayner's, and they started watching a scary movie- at one really creepy part of the movie's climax, Hayner barely moved and Demyx squealed like he was about to die. At least, that's what Roxas said but I believe him because you know, he's my cousin and besides Kairi, he's my best friend." I noticed he was staring at me. "What?" I demanded, confused.  
"That's the most you've said to me at one time. Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.  
"Yeah. Double. You can feel my forehead to prove it if you want," I said, squatting and pressing his hand to mu forehead.  
"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, jerking his hand back.  
"What?!" I demanded, freaked out by his outburst.  
"Your... Your forehead- it's freakishly hot! We need to get you to mom!" he said, jumping up and grabbing my arm and dropped it immediately. "Geez! You're hot to the touch! Sora! You might die if we don't cool you off!"  
"What?! I don't want to die- help me!" I screamed, grabbing his hand and he jerked it away.  
"Don't touch me! It burns! Oh, no..." he said, a horrified look on his face.  
"What?! What is it now!?" I pleaded, tears in my eyes. I just knew something was seriously wrong with me!  
"Your hair is on fire!" he shouted.  
"WAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!" I screamed, running and diving headfirst into the waves. I have a fever so bad I caught fire! When I resurfaced, Riku was laughing his ass off on the shore, rolling on his towel.  
"What is wrong with you?! I was in danger and you're LAUGHING?!" I demanded, walking up to him.  
"Oh my god! You actually believed it you gullible fool- you're fine! Oh my God that is hilarious!" he said, sitting up and wiping a tear from his eye.  
"You jerk!" I shouted, stomping my foot.  
"Did you...? I thought- only- girls- stomp their foots!" he said, his words cut up with laughter.  
"Stop it!" I shouted, stomping my foot again by accident, riveting more laughter from Riku. Before I realized what I did next, Riku's shocked face turned to me slowly, his hand moving to his cheek which started to turn bright red, and I'm guessing it stung because my hand tingled painfully as well.  
"You... You just hit me," he accused with a calm voice though his face looked far from calm- it was coated with surprise, but not the good kind.  
"I... I told you to quit it," I responded weakly. I never really thought I had it in me to slap someone- I've punched people, but slapping is a girl's game.  
"So? That gives you no right..." he started, standing up and leaving me to cower in his wake as his now-fearsome expression bore into my eyes, "to slap me like I'm your bitch."  
"I-I-I didn't m-mean t-to make you mad, I was just-"  
"Angry? Well if you're entitled to hit me when you're mad then I guess I can be granted the same liberty, RIGHT?!" he shouted, lunging at me like a panther... A very big, angry, scary panther with rabies. I screamed as he tackled me onto the sand. He had me turned over quickly while he sat on my abdomen, clutching the back of my head by the hair. He leaned into my ear.  
"Eat my dust, you big baby," he said, grinding my face into the sand. "Do you like the taste of dirt? How about ocean-washed dirt, huh?" he asked, then lifted my head, leaving me to try and spit out the mouthfull of sand that had accumulated. "Yes... Eat dirt washed in fish-pee," he sneered, shoving my head back into the dirt before standing up.  
"Fish pee?" I coughed out around the dry sand stuck to my tongue as I tried to rid my mouth of it.  
"Yeah- sea creatures shit, too, right? You just ate fish pee."  
"Eeeeewwwww!"I screamed, trying to scrape the dirt off with my hands. When I had rid myself of as much as I could, I looked around. Riku was nowhere in sight.  
"Riku?" I called, concerned even though he just made me eat dirt. I started glancing around rapidly. "Riku!" I called, getting more and more worried. I felt someone tap my shoulder. He held out a small cup of fresh water. I took it and looked up at him. Riku was standing there, a mostly blank but mildly irritated expression as he watched me.  
"Well, are you just gonna sit there with fish pee breath or are you going to rinse it out?" he demanded, one arm still behind his back while the other had a hand on his hip. It just left me to look back at the water and pour it into my mouth and swirl it around. I spit it on the beach and tossed the cup on my pile of things. I looked back up at Riku who was holding something out to me. I took it in surprise and stared at it as it started to drip on my hand. Riku bit off of his and arched an eyebrow at me.  
"Well, are you gonna eat that or do I have to?" he asked around a mouthful of Sea-Salt Ice Cream. I hesitantly took a bite. There he goes again with his weird mood swings... When he was nearly finished with his ice cream, he grabbed my arm and pulled me up.  
"What are you doing?" I demanded, swallowing a painful lump of frozen dessert.  
"I want you to introduce me to the little volleyball kids," he said, half-smiling.  
"Do I have to?" I asked, sounding a little whiny even in my ears.  
"Yes," he answered like he was being deathly serious about it. I groaned as he drug me across the beach. We reached the little group by the net, and he stood next to Naminé, watching the scene between the boys while Olette blew her whistle furiously trying to referee and get their attention.  
"What happened?" Riku asked Naminé quietly. She looked up at him like the boys were killing each other instead of screaming their heads off. The main argument seemed like it was between Roxas and Hayner, like it always is and Pence was standing there, obviously wanting to take Roxas's side but it looked like he was on Hayner's team, seeing how he was standing next to Hayner.  
"Well, um... Hayner knocked the ball into the edge of Roxas's side, and Roxas says it was a foul ball and Hayner thinks he scored. Olette is trying to settle everything- she said it was foul but Hayner insists that Roxas is in the wrong," Naminé said quietly. She had one of those soft voices that sounded like there was no shout option, just talking, whispering, and helpless screaming when in danger.  
"Why are you over here?" he asked her.  
"Normally I just watch but when I play, a fight starts and I run over here."  
"Were you playing today?" Riku asked.  
"Yes," she nodded. "They just finished arguing over wether or not to charge a point on Hayner."  
"What?" I asked.  
"That's what they call it when one team takes one of the other team's points for a penalty."  
"Why would they penalty Hayner?" Riku asked. Naminé turned her bright sapphire eyes back to Riku.  
"Because at one point he spiked the ball and it hit me in the head," she said.  
"Aww... Are you okay?" Riku asked, sounding concerned.  
"I'm fine- I'm more worried about my brother."  
"And that is Roxas who is right there, right?" Riku asked, pointing to the crazy spiked blonde hair.  
"Yes."  
"I see... And that is Hayner, and that must be Olette... I'm guessing that kid is Pence, right?"  
"Yes." I noticed then Pence was trying to hold back Hayner while Olette pushed Roxas's chest, trying to hold him back, too.  
"Looks like things are getting out of hand... Sora, keep an eye on her, okay?" Riku asked, seeing the look on Naminé's face that suggested she was close to tears. "I'm gonna put a stop to this." He started walking to the angry parties, tossing his popsicle stick to the side. That's when Roxas got around Olette and Hayner elbowed Pence in the ribs, causing Pence to let go. They charged each other, and by that time Riku was there. He grabbed both of their foreheads and shoved them down.  
"Hey!" both boys exclaimed.  
"Roxas, don't you think it would be best to keep your sister from getting scared? Isn't it your job as her brother?"  
"Uh... Uh..." Roxas stammered, clearly intimidated by Riku.  
"And you- you ought to listen to the referee more carefully. She said foul, so you get penalized- one point."  
"Hey, man- you can't just-"  
"Yes I can because I'm bigger than you," Riku taunted. "Hey Roxas- can I play? I'll sub in for your sister." Roxas looked at Riku, astonished.  
"S-s-sure!" he stuttered, excited that a strong guy like Riku would want to play on his team.  
"Hey, no fair!" Hayner complained.  
"It's my choice. Is it okay if I sub for you, girl?" he asked Naminé, and oddly the word 'girl' sounded like he was being sweet on her. Naminé just nodded feebly.  
"Alright, then- teams to your sides! Lets play!" Olette called out before blowing her whistle. Hayner stormed to his side, Pence trotting behind him while Roxas and Riku calmly walked to their side. Olette blew the whistle and threw the ball up, and Riku spiked it straight into the sand, causing Hayner to protest. He didn't try to argue though, especially after Riku smacked his fist into his palm, rested his fists on his hips, then said a cryptic: "Try it- I dare you."  
"A friend of yours?" Naminé asked.  
"Huh? Oh... I dunno..." I trailed off, interested in the game that Riku's team was obviously winning.  
"He's really nice... I mean, when things aren't spiraling too far out of control," she said. I sat down next to Naminé after a while because she had sat down a few minutes after I didn't respond. We continued to follow the game a long time, when I looked over to the patio area. Axel's gang was still there. They were eating lunch now, but Demyx didn't look like he was eating. He looked a little mad, even. I wonder what his problem was. Axel was staring at the game boredly, Marluxia was saying something to Zexion, who then calmly raised a fist, elbow on the table, and extend his middle finger without his eyes trailing from his book. Axel turned his head toward that little scene and started laughing. Then Marluxia flicked a cheese fry at Demyx, who retaliated by squirting him with the mustard bottle on the table. Marluxia then stood up to punch him while Demyx just sat there in an enigmatic mood, his head propped on his fist while he picked the cheese fry out of his faux hawk. Axel grabbed Marluxia to keep him from lashing out. Then he said something that made Marluxia calm down just enough for Axel to drag him to the edge of the patio right next to a palm tree. Then he started saying something to Marluxia, jabbing his finger at Demyx, then at Marluxia, himself, then proceeded to wave his hands around like a maniac. Marluxia responded with a comment of some kind that made Axel slap his own forehead, then pull Marluxia to him by the ear, where he appeared to hiss something before shoving Marluxia and pointing to a random direction in an area of housing. Marluxia appeared to try and protest when Axel pointed at Marluxia, said something, and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder toward us. Marluxia looked right at me nodded, and left. Axel watched him for a second or two, then turned and looked right at me before returning to his table. It was all totally weird, and when I had awaken Riku this morning I never thought this visit to the beach would turn out like this.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: My Flirts Day Of School (Part 1)  
Sora  
When our day at the beach was about over, Riku and Roxas winning their games, I rushed up to him. When Pence's big brother, Terra, showed up to get him, Axel's group sort of disbursed all except Demyx. Hayner and Roxas started arguing again, causing Olette to take action. This time, Riku shook his head and walked to Naminé. He looked at me and in that split second when I saw his face I knew he was out for trouble. His devilish grin told me I wouldn't like it, either. He walked up to Naminé.  
"Hey... So Naminé, just curious- you got a boyfriend?" Riku asked. His voice was hinting something I didn't like... In fact, it wasn't just that I didn't like it, the emotion I was feeling was- dare I say it?- jealousy.  
"No, why?" she asked. She was so innocent- let Riku leave her be! She probably doesn't even know what a boyfriend is!  
"Weeelllll... I was wondering if maybe Tuesday night we could meet up at the little ice cream shop next to the salon? Just to make the plan a little more specific maybe you could give me your number so I could tell you what time. Are you up to it?" he asked, grinning at her with a very flirtatious look on his face.  
"Umm... Okay," she said shyly. What?!  
"Great... Here. Why don't you text me or something, huh?" he said, slipping her a piece of paper. Oh, great- this guy carries pre made cards with his number? She looked at the paper like it was a fairy. I grimaced and noticed Riku suddenly had all our suff and was walking home.  
"C'mon, Sora! You coming?" he called, waving to me. I stood there stupidly trying to process what he just said. Sora snap out of it! He wants you to follow him, duh!  
"Coming," I called and started up the hill towards him. I followed him wordlessly into the house. An odd wave of emotion suddenly washed over me and I quickly dodged around Riku to avoid being caught. I had to hide... Get somewhere and hide, like my room. I hurried up the stairs, Riku staring at me curiously as I went up. As soon as I was on the second floor I started running to my room, arm in front of my eyes as if it would help. I couldn't even see where I was going and ran into the wall next to my door, hurting my nose in the process. I ran through my door correctly and shut it behind me quickly I threw myself into my bed, buried my face in my pillow and then pulled the covers over my head. I didn't even know why, exactly. I just felt like I was stabbed. A minute later after several large, warm beads of saltwater had dropped from my eyes my door opened and I heard some things being dropped on my floor. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes closed even more. Let whoever it is leave- I want to be alone.  
"Sora?" Damn. That voice. I tried to speak but all that came out was a muted sob, barely audible to me, even.  
"Sora, what's wrong?" he asked. I felt someone sit on the bed behind me. I curled up even more, especially when a light touch met my back.  
"I hit my nose on the wall- what do you want?" I asked. I could barely say it.  
"Well, I came to drop off your things and I saw this little lump in the covers. Are you sure you're alright?"  
"Yes."  
"Sora... Are you upset that I didn't spend much time with you today? I know you probably wanted to hang out with me because you took me to the beach... Is that it? Did you feel left out?"  
"Yeah," I said after a few seconds. Let's just stick with that.  
"I'm sorry... Is there any way I can make it up to you?" he asked. I opened my eyes a bit. I turned around to look at him. I peeked from under my blankets.  
"Well... Yeah, there is."  
"Just name it," Riku said sincerely.  
"Riku... Can we be friends?"  
"Of course- we can be anything you want." I smiled a little.  
"Yeah," I agreed quietly.  
"Aww, you like that I'm here- you would be lost without me! You looove your big brother!" Riku teased, poking my forehead. Embarrassed, I retreated back into my hiding place under the covers. Does that mean he knows? Is he just messing with me?  
"Aww, don't hide!" he protested. He got up. A second later someone pulled open a little space in front of me and peeked inside. "It looks pretty cozy in here... No wonder this is where you hide." I watched him curiously. What would he do next?  
"Well, you need to come out."  
"Why?" I asked quietly.  
"Because- I have to ask you something."  
"What?" I asked, sitting up. He raised his head from his arms, which were folded on the bed.  
"What's up with Demyx? He seemed pretty upset today."  
"How should I know?" I demanded and relaxed back onto my pillow. It was soaked with tears, I noticed.  
"Well, is his little brother Hayner always like that?"  
"He was getting worked up easier than usual... But yeah- he's pretty much like that."  
"Maybe Demyx and Hayner got in a fight this morning," he guessed.  
"Maybe," I agreed. Then something else came to mind. I sat up. "What the hell is the big deal, asking out Naminé- what were you thinking? She's my cousin!" He sat down on the bed cross-legged beside me.  
"Yeah, but... Even though the papers may say we are now brothers, it's not true because the truth is, I'm not related to any of you, so I can do as I please. Besides- it's surprising a girl as nice as her doesn't have some kind of boyfriend. Regardless, I can be someone she can go to if she's in trouble. You know, as my 'baby brother' you get that special privilege, too- but just because you're weak and skinny."  
"Oh, thanks, you are too kind," I said sarcastically, hitting him with my pillow.  
"Oh, so now you want a fight?" he asked playfully, putting me in a chokehold and started giving me a noogie.  
"Ow-OW! Stop it! You win, you win!" I caved, laughing. He let me go, but instead of sitting up I leaned back.  
"Sora? Are you sleepy or something?" Riku asked. I noticed I was leaning on his chest. I sat up abruptly.  
"I... No. Just sick of sitting and standing, you know?"  
"Yeah. Sure," Riku said. "Don't worry about Naminé, Sora. I'll be nice."  
"You better," I warned.  
"Or else what? You're too wimpy to beat me up."  
"I'll find some way to make you pay," I continued, trying to be scary. It kind of hurt to have him go after someone else but I had to deal with it- he has his own life to live, and I can't control any of it. Besides- he was off-limits, anyway. I have no idea how or why I got so emotionally attached to him, anyway- I mean, is it how he acts when I'm upset? Because he seems like he cares. Or did the feeling grow into noticeability? I recalled the way he had looked at me blankly in the car window. It was my fault he was so mean- I fired the first shot by being stubborn, and now look at me- it's like he's been there all along.  
"Sora?" he asked. "What's wrong? You're..." he said, reaching out but hesitating a little. I felt something wet slide down my face again. I touched it.  
"That's weird..." I started. Then another and another started flowing. I started shaking with silent sobs.  
"Sora..." Riku said, his face looking like he was watching a puppy with a broken leg.  
"I-I-I'm s-so sor-r-ry, Riku!" I sobbed. I hung my head. Why was this happening?  
"Hey," he said softly. I refused to look at him while I cried- he would tease me later for this, I knew it.  
"What do you need to be sorry about?" he asked.  
"I'm such a b-bad person!" I pressed my fists into my eyes to try and stop it.  
"No you're not."  
"Yes I am! I tried to send you away like garbage! I was such a brat to you... You didn't deserve it. I'm sorry!" I sobbed, looking him in the eye. "If anything, I'm the garbage!"  
"You're not garbage... You're just adjusting," he said. I kept crying and not looking at him. "Sora, come on- stop." When it didn't work, he sighed, most likely rolling his eyes, too. Then hands rubbed across my back until I was pressed on all sides. "It's okay, just-stop crying, okay?" He was... hugging me? "Don't be sad, you don't have a reason to. The past is the past- water under the bridge. I forgive you, okay? Just calm down." His hand was rubbing my back. Oddly, now that it was I was being soothed. I was easily calmed out of tears then. He had forgiven me... What is wrong with me? I'm acting like some kind of lunatic.  
"There... You okay now?" he asked. I wiped my eyes and nodded. He pulled away... But I couldn't help but to latch onto his shirt. "Sora?"  
"Can we be best friends?" I asked quickly.  
"Sure." I still didn't let go. "Sora?"  
"Can we sit here a minute?" He hesitated a moment. Then he relaxed.  
"... Okay." I rested my head in his shoulder. I felt drowsy and before I knew it, I was waking up to my mom calling me down for dinner. I looked around... he must've slipped out when I went under. I went downstairs and ate dinner. I didn't say a word. Then I bathed and went back to bed, still not a word. Right before I slipped back into sleep, I heard a faint: "Goodnight, Sora."

Mom woke me up the next morning ordering me to get dressed in my uniform because I needed to be on the trolley in an hour. I went through my morning routine in a daze... Monday... Monday? It's already Monday? Why am I awake this early? Trolley? What trolley? Why do I need to be on a-  
"Come on, boys- you don't wanna be late for school!" my mom called up the stairs. Right... School. "I've got sandwiches for breakfast- hurry up!" I finished my routine and grabbed my backpack. These uniforms are ridiculous- blue and white plaid pants and tie with a white shirt and black dress shoes- one of the silliest combinations I've ever seen. I trotted to the stairs and looked at Riku's door when I heard the click of a doorknob twisting. He looked out with relaxed, intimidating eyes and a blank stare. His long bang fell into his face and he looked around the hall, his eyes resting on me at last, causing my stomach to turn and twist into little knots. I looked at him in his uniform- it looked exactly like mine. Short sleeved button up white shirt, blue and white plaid tie and pants with a black belt, and black dress shoes. I swallowed nervously and started down the stairs. Of course, already emotionally balancing precautiously on a scalpel's edge, I slipped on the stairs, loosing my physical balance. I tumbled down the stairs, coming to a crashing halt at the halfway point. Seconds later, Riku was stepping over me, smirking and shaking his head.  
"Typical," he muttered, passing me on the way to the kitchen. I got up and trotted after him, almost tripping again. Mom handed me my sandwich and my lunch.  
"Have a nice day, Sora," she said, smiling. She hasn't been this happy in a long time...  
"Sora, let's go!" Riku called from just outside the front door. I nodded at my mom and started for Riku. She grabbed me before I could take another step and hugged me.  
"Be good, okay big boy?" she whispered. Then she let me go and started waving to Riku. He waved back. Then he waited for me. I ran after him and stumbled two feet away.  
"You're such a klutz, Sora," he muttered.  
"I'm sorry- it's kind of your fault!" I insisted before I realized what I almost let out. I almost told him my stumbling around him was because I would get nervous... all I wanted now was for him to like me.  
"Me? How is it my fault?" he asked playfully- his playful voice in that instant became one of the cutest things I've ever heard.  
"Because... Um... You intimidate me," I said. He scoffed.  
"Yeah right... It's something else- you're a terrible liar, Sora. Come on- I don't want to be late," he said, walking towards the train station.  
"Hey, Riku?" I asked after fifteen minutes of walking.  
"What is it, Sora?" he asked.  
"Well... I was wondering... Are you serious about Naminé?"  
"Well... I haven't really thought about it... I mean, I just met her yesterday, and we haven't even gone on a date yet, so I'm not sure. She's cute, I'll allow that- and she has a nice body, too. And she seems pretty sweet. I'll have to take her out tomorrow night and see where it goes from there."  
"It bothers me when you say something like that," I mumbled.  
"What? When I was talking about her appearance? Wouldn't you go out with her, or does she even interest you at all?"  
"How many times to I have to tell you- she is my cousin!" I hissed.  
"Just for a minute pretend she isn't- then tell me what you think."  
"Well... I guess she does have an okay body... But I still wouldn't date her- firstly she would be too shy and goody-goody to start anything; she would probably only let you hold her hand. Secondly, she is super unpopular with the other girls because she is so quiet. Olette is the only girl who likes her, and the only reason Roxas's friends hang out with her is because Roxas is super protective over her and makes her go EVERYWHERE with him unless she's sick and has to stay home. He even made his friends sign up for the same classes as hers. The only classes he doesn't have her in is the electives, but they choose those today. You'll be lucky if you can get her alone for the date."  
"Hmm... Well, I still like her- I mean, the Roxas thing seems a little much but other than that she doesn't sound bad at all. I'd be the one starting everything, anyway- I like being in control." We stepped on the trolley that would take us straight to the school. Roxas, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Naminé were already sitting in the back, Roxas and Pence sharing a seat with Pence at the window, Hayner across from them and Naminé in front of Roxas in the window seat, Olette beside her. I sat down two seats in front of them, leaving seven rows in the front. Then, to my surprise, Axel and his gang got on. And they had a new member. Demyx was chatting away with him. Riku sat across the row from me as I watched Zexion following Demyx close behind, occasionally asked a rowdy question from the two as they sat down with one seat between themselves and Riku. Zexion sat in front of them, Marluxia and Axel following, the only ones without a school uniform. Axel had all the earrings in his ears that had been pierced multiple times, slashed up baggy jeans, halfway unbuttoned dark red-brown shirt under a brown windbreaker, checkered wristband, a black ring on his index finger, dogtags, a chain that connected something in his pocket (perhaps his wallet?) to his beltloop, which had a checkered patterned belt that matched his wristband, and really worn out blue converse sneakers. Marluxia was wearing a tight, white v-neck shirt with long sleeves that hugged his arms, and that shirt was under a navy blue button up shirt that was unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up to just above his elbows, baggy, dark blue jeans with a chain similar to Axel's, a pair of red, black, and white basketball shoes that had the laces tucked into the shoe, and his pink hair shrouded his face. They sat across from the other boys, Marluxia across from Zexion, Axel across from Demyx and the new guy, who had long blue hair, pierced ears, golden eyes, and a stern look that changed only when someone said something funny. Demyx loosened his tie, threw his right leg over the seat behind him, and leaned on the window, not minding that his legs were split at the new guy. Of course, you could put three people to a seat so there was about a seat's worth of space between them, but still. Axel leaned into the window, too and lounged more comfortably then Demyx, who seemed comfortable but Axel had more lounging space. Marluxia leaned into the corner where the seat meets the window and Zexion was the only one besides the new guy who was sitting correctly up there. He obviously had his nose in a book, so he didn't care. The new guy had his head turned to Axel, who was talking to him from across the isle.  
"Okay, Sïax. Welcome to the group. You just need to know that here, we are all brothers because this is the only family that myself and Marluxia have, so we need to stick up for each other," Axel said to the new guy, Sïax. "See that guy behind you?" Axel asked pointing to Demyx. Sïax turned around.  
"Yo," Demyx said, holding his hand up before Sïax could turn back to Axel.  
"He is your brother, just like I am your brother and Marluxia and Zexion are your brothers. You know, Zexy has a weird family, so he needs this security, don't you bro?" Axel asked, grinning at Zexion.  
"My little sister is my cousin," Zexion muttered.  
"Fuu was put up for adoption when she was born because her parents were afraid of her mutation, and wouldn't you know her Uncle Xemnas and Aunt Aqua adopts her. His brother, Ansem, and the rest of his family died," Axel told Sïax. Riku froze.  
"What was wrong with her?" Sïax asked.  
"She had blood red eyes instead of orange or aquamarine," Zexion responded, flipping the page. He was really small for his age- I was half an inch taller than him and he was two years older than me. Leon and Yuffie got on, Yuffie's little sister following and Kairi following them. That's when I remembered- Kairi was Leon's little sister. That was probably why he put up with me. Kairi sat down next to me, Leon sat in front of Riku, Yuffie sat in front of me with a cheery 'Hi!' I was focused on Riku, though. The expression on his face was scaring me. Yuffie's little sister sat quietly in the front seat. Larxene, a girl in Demyx's class sat next to her and they immediately started talking. Larxene and Xion were probably the biggest sluts in school- a new guy just about every week, and Larxene has had more than one pregnancy scare. I went through Junior high with Xion in my class- she flirted with everyone all the time. She first met Larxene at eighth grade graduation and earlier in the summer I saw them flirting with everyone at the beach. Kairi was talking to me, I noticed, but I wasn't listening.  
"Riku?" I asked.  
"My dad... His name was Ansem... And my uncle is Xemnas, my Aunt Aqua... I knew I had cousins but I never met them... Turns out I did and never knew it!" Riku mumbled in awe. That's when a girl about my age gets on, hair the exact same color as Riku's, bloodred eyes, and a school uniform with thigh high socks like Yuffie's and Larxene's instead of knee high like all the other girls. She sat in the seat that was about two seats in front of Marluxia. Kairi was looking at her, too.  
"Sora! What is with you? That's just Fuu- don't you remember what she did to you?"  
"... No?" I said.  
"I don't believe you! She gave you a wedgie and hung you from the flagpole by your underwear!" Kairi said. I looked at her like she was something from Mars. I remembered now, but the tone of her voice...  
"Are you jealous, Kairi?" I asked. She got a little flushed then.  
"No!" she insisted. "You're unbelievable!" she said exasperatedly and got up to sit by Yuffie.  
"So, Sora- you excited to sign up for athletics? I know I am- we can totally win with you on the track team! Nice tan," Yuffie commented.  
"Thanks," I said. "I'm thinking about joining the cheerleading team, too, and I might sign up to be water boy for football."  
"Hahahaha!" she laughed. "Cheerleading, huh? I'll admit you're loud but we really need catchers, and you're awful clumsy. How about you, Rik? You'd make a great catcher." Siefer, Rai, and Vivi got on, then, Pence's brother following. That's when I remembered his name- Terra. Terra looked like Pence's dad, while Pence closer resembled his mom.  
"What's wrong with me? It's because he's hotter than me, isn't it?" I demanded. Leon, who was leaning against the window with his eyes closed suddenly tensed up, his eye shooting open. Kairi turned around to stare at me, Riku looked up like I'd just asked him to wipe my butt, and Demyx and Axel stared at me. Axel then shook his head and started talking to Sïax, who was now looking around, wondering what was going on. Demyx raised his eyebrow and turned his head to the front of the trolley. Kairi stared at me still, Yuffie sat in shock, Riku still had that look on his face, and Leon's eye was now trained on me.  
"What?" Riku asked, sounding shocked, confused and a little irritated. Yuffie started laughing.  
"You know, like- I think she only wants you on the team because you have big muscles. Girls like big muscles and all, so Yuffie might think you're hotter than me so she wants you instead," I explained nervously. Real smooth, Sora- you've got all eyes on you and you almost let the secret out.  
"Awww, isn't that cute!" Kairi gushed. I looked at her in horror. Did she know? Has she put it together? Is it over for me? Will she tell-  
"Sora's jealous of Riku!" she cooed, pinching my cheek.  
"Awwww!" Yuffie said, pinching my other cheek.  
"Poor Sora!" Kairi said, pulling me to her chest in the kind of hug you would give a Teddy bear when you're happy. My face burned red when I realized my head was buried in her chest. I could barely peek out at Riku, who was laughing at me.  
"Kairi, let me go!" I begged, but I was too muffled by her breasts to be understood.  
"Yuffie, little Sora needs more love- he's so insecure!" Kairi said.  
"No! Nooooooo!" I called, squirming when Yuffie joined the hug. Now I was pressed on both sides as the trolley began to move.  
"Is there a group hug back here?" Oh, God no! Not Larxene! "Oooh! Is that the cute little Sora bug I see? He is so cute!" she called, and I felt her boobs press into my back as she joined the other girls. I was screaming, now, and all I heard was the girls giggling and Riku's laughter as I felt another body add to the pile. I felt the new girl's legs draped over my lap. Xion, it just had to be. Then I felt another.  
"This is so adorable!" I heard Olette squeal.  
"Here, Naminé- get my camera out of my purse and take a picture- I want to put this in the yearbook!" Kairi called. Of course she would want to be on the yearbook team- she aspires to be a journalist. I barely saw the flash of a camera.  
"Good- join us, Naminé! He is just the cutest thing! He called me an angel this summer!" Olette squealed.  
"No thanks... I need to talk to someone," Naminé said.  
"Even I can't resist!" I heard another girl call... The same one who called me a dork before hanging me from a flagpole. I felt another person's weight added to the pile of just GIRLS on my back.  
"Okay, look- all of you are very pretty, um... Very lovely girls, but I would appreciate it if you would take me out of your chests- I'm a little uncomfortable being here," I said nervously. I didn't want to offend them because more than one of these girls could damage me.  
"What, do you not like our breasts?" Larxene asked, squishing into my back harder to emphasize her point.  
"No, well, er... I mean- they're very nice but I don't really feel it's appropriate," I tried again.  
"But you're not uncomfortable, right?" the girl on my lap asked- yep. Xion.  
"It's really SOFT!" I squeaked when her hip brushed my privates.  
"Xion, get-off-my-lap!" I hissed. "I just don't like being wrapped in all these chestparts!"  
"This is so cute!"  
"No, it's not!" I protested.  
"I just adore him!"  
"You can be my pet for the year, cutie!"  
"Pet? He'll be my playtoy if he wants."  
"No, I don't want to-"  
"Aww, I don't think hugs are enough!"  
"Let's give him a kiss!"  
"Yeah!"  
"NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I got off the trolley, all the girls' lipgloss all over my face and one planted on my neck. Riku walked next to me, smirking and obviously trying not to laugh. The group of girls waved and split up into their smaller groups, Olette going with Roxas and his friends, Fuu going with Seifer's gang, Yuffie and Kairi with Leon, and Larxene and Xion waving all their fingers at me flirtishly, blowing kisses, then finally walking away but swaying their hips to hold my attention. I glared at Riku.  
"Why did you let them DO THAT to me?!" I demanded. "You're supposed to be my big brother and you didn't stick up for me!"  
"We are in the same class, those are girls (and some of them aren't that bad-looking), and you need to learn to fight some of your own battles."  
"Pfft. What did you do besides laugh at me? Nothing."  
"That's not true- Dad's taking me to get my liscence after school today, so while you were being smothered in a way any guy would love to be, I was planning my date with Naminé. I'm going to pick her up tomorrow at seven, and we are going to see a movie. I even have directions to her house- not very far from home, I might add."  
"Yeah- it's just a house or two away from home."  
"She's really excited about it... Hey, why didn't they ride the trolley?" he asked, pointing to Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus.  
"They must've been staying in town..." I mumbled. They had a camp they went to until school started- it's a study camp. Tidus and Wakka have bad grades, and Selphie goes because she likes to help them study. Leon and Kairi don't understand why an eighth grader could help freshmen in their studies, but she succeeded. Of course, most of the stuff they teach at camp is eighth grade things and Selphie is a little boy crazy. It wouldn't surprise me if she became friends with Xion and Larxene.  
"Leon mentioned he had another little sister skipping into the ninth grade... Is that her?"  
"Yeah... I guess... His only sisters are Kairi and Selphie, and you've met Kairi."  
"Cool." I stared at him like he was a madman. That was all he had to say?  
"Wait! I've lost Naminé!"  
"Roxas, it's fine- she is a big girl. Besides, you can't have her in your sight every second of the day!" Hayner said, and I looked around to see him trying to reason with a frantic Roxas. "Let's go," Hayner said. "We'll see her in the assembly to announce the freshmen, and you can go on with keeping her on a leash. I heard from Olette she had a tough guy out for her- he'll keep her safe, okay?"  
"Tough guy?! What the fuck?! Now something bad could happen when did he meet her and whydidnoonetellmeeeee!" Roxas squalled. Hayner beckoned to Pence and both of them grabbed one of Roxas's arms and drug him inside. Riku and I proceeded walking due to the fact we had paused to watch Roxas's mini-meltdown about his sister. Then I heard a clicking of shoes behind me. Riku and I turned, and for the first time I noticed he was a whole head taller than me. I looked at the girl who had trotted towards us, with her white button up shirt you could almost see through, knee high black socks, brown dress shoes, blue and white plaid skirt and tie swinging along with her blonde hair.  
"Naminé? Why aren't you with Roxas? He is totally freaking out right now," I commented.  
"Well... You see, um... I wanted to spend a little time to myself... And I wanted to talk to Riku, too," she said, looking down.  
"So... What is it?" Riku asked.  
"Well... This is a little embarrassing, but... I..." she whispered, then stepped forward quickly to hug Riku. I did a little bit of a double take.  
"I think you're nice," she said softly. Then she drew back and smiled at him shyly before waving. Then she dashed inside.  
"Nice," I scoffed. "I told you that she's way to sweet- good luck getting a kiss, Prince Charming," I said angrily.  
"Sora, don't be that way- she's just shy. You don't like that I'm dating her, do you?" he asked. I started storming inside. "Sora, why are you so mad?"  
"I'm going to wipe this stuff off my face," I grumbled. Great. Now I'm jealous on top of all that. The look on his face when she hugged him... Cheery surprise.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: My Flirts Day of School (Part 2)  
Sora  
When I got into the restroom I wiped off all the makeup residue and stared at my reflection. Calm down, Sora- it is just a girl, he is your brother, and you have all sorts of ladies after you. Try one of them, then go after him... No, Sora... Try ALL the girls. Who knows? Maybe his sister will be a good substitute. Besides, if anyone found out you fancy your brother it would be the end. Then the memory of his muscles flexing when we were working out came to mind... His shirtlessness when he was in pjs, how LOW his pants were. My crotch was pressed against the counter. I tried to stop the image flow but it spiraled out of control- soon I was imagining him naked, imagined him taking over my body. Suddenly the pressure of the counter felt so GOOD and I wanted so much more than that but he wasn't here... I jumped into one of the stalls. I was lucky- this was probably the only boys bathroom in the country that had stalls with doors on the urinals. I unzipped my pants and whipped out like I would pee- I even took my pissing stance. But I didn't take a leak. I know it was bad... And I knew I shouldn't do it, but I started jerking off right there at the urinal. I'd never done it before, and I've never been aroused before, but just... Riku and his glorious body! And I knew I had to have friction to make it better. Imagining wasn't enough. And this would have to do until I could get some sort of body for myself. Before I knew it, I was biting my knuckles to keep from making a lot of noise. Then, some cream-colored liquid shot out into the basin of the urinal and I let the word 'Riku' slip. Then it was over. I heard the announcer say that the assembly would start in three minutes. I put myself away and zipped up. Then I washed my hands and went to the auditorium. I opened the doors and the bleachers were full of people. Then I saw Xion waving me over to the freshmen row. I got up there to find she had made a space for me. I obliged and sat next to her... I'll go for the easy ones, first. I was working on step one of getting over Riku. Obsessing over him was on the line. Masturbating to him is crossing that line.  
"Where were you?" Xion asked.  
"Bathroom... Just washing lipgloss off my face," I replied.  
"Hehe! Did you like the one on your cheek right there?" she asked, poking the spot. "I made that one. Mint flavored lipgloss."  
"Heh... I like mint- it's so tingly," I said, trying to flirt. I mean, the scenario wasn't the best, but I was trying to work with it.  
"Want to sample it later, then?" she asked.  
"Well, I don't see why not," I said, putting my arm around her shoulders.  
"How about bleachers after the assembly? We have a whole period to choose electives... All I need is a good sixty seconds. Sounds short, but it's perfect."  
"Sounds good."  
"Hmm," she grinned, nestlings deeper into my side. I noticed Kairi giving us a dirty look. What's her problem? I grinned at her sheepishly and she huffed before crossing her arms, shooting her gaze back to the principal, who started a speech, then announced our names one by one to introduce us. After that they released us to let us find our electives. I swerved through the crowd to get under the bleachers. Xion was there waiting for me. I honestly think I was only going for her was because I was pissed off and jealous about Riku. I got under and she quickly embraced me, tangling her fingers into my hair.  
"Are you ready for your sample?" she asked quietly.  
"Yeah," I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her waist. She was low standard, but it was all I had at the moment. She pressed her mouth into mine, tightening her grip around my neck as we steered towards a wall, her pressed against it. I found myself imagining her as Riku, and then our tongues were having a party. His hands started undoing the buttons on my shirt and massaged over my stomach. If I could get his shirt off to see those muscles again... I was pressing him to the wall, now. His hands ran into my shirt and up my back. I started kissing down his neck, sucking at the base.  
"Mmm, ah- Sora," a female voice murmured in my ear. Right... This was Xion, not Riku. No, Sora- keep it up. Make her Riku. So I did. I started unfastening his shirt to kiss his neck. I moved from the base of his neck to his shoulder and back to keep sucking in that place, his arms holding my head securely in that place while I inched up his skirt. Yes... Riku's skirt. One of his hands started to try my belt as my fingers traveled under the skirt to the sound of feminine sighs. Just as I was about to go under his underwear, I heard another voice snap me out of it. Right- this is Xion, not Riku. Damn it... The other girl.  
"Sora!" My head snapped up at my name.  
"Kairi!" I squeaked.  
"Kairi!" I heard Xion complain.  
"Why? Why are you such an idiot- you don't even notice... Hooking up with Xion under the bleachers! Fine. You can be that way- I'm going," Kairi said angrily before stomping away. Xion's fingers trailed my neck again.  
"No, Xion... Kairi just kind of ruined it... Sorry," I apologized. "Maybe this won't work. I mean, you're nice and all, but someone else kind of has my attention... I was hoping you could pull me out of it but it didn't work the way I'd hoped. I'm really sorry," I said again before heading out from under the bleachers, buttoning my shirt. Then I spotted Fuu. She might just do the trick- she looks just like Riku. I started that way when someone dragged me under a different set of bleachers.  
"I saw you loving up my home girl- she didn't do it for you, did she? Well, I can do just that..." a female voice called from over me. My eyes adjusted to the darkness but I already knew who it was... Larxene. She was on all fours above me. Her skirt was so much shorter than everyone else's... In a position like this the entirety of London and France could be seen if you get behind her. She undid her shirt until I had full on cleavage in my face.  
"Let me tell you one thing... I'll bet you would like to try a blonde... You look like you're into light hair and bright eyes... Am I right?"  
"Y-yes," I stammered. She took one of my hands and brushed my index finger along her lips.  
"I bet you would like action, too... Right? Like... A taste?" she asked, then started sucking on my finger.  
"I... Uhmm..."  
"Have you ever felt a slide when you slid down it? Imagine you're my slide," she mumbled and started sliding her hips forward and back over my crotch. The friction felt soo nice...  
"It is a fun offer, Larxene but I need to decline... You see, I have someone in mind and you're not it, I'm really sorry, though," I said, pushing her off me and getting up. I ran out and saw silvery hair bouncing through the crowd. I rushed towards it and ran into Riku.  
"S-sorry," I mumbled.  
"What's wrong, Sora- you look a little shaken," Riku pointed out.  
"Yeah, well I just had two near-sexual encounters and I plan on getting my girl of choice before the day is through, okay?" I mentally slapped myself. Why the fuck did you tell him THAT?!  
"Oh... Well, best of luck to you I guess... Who is she?" Riku asked, signing a sheet. Then I was handed a paper and pen so I absentmindedly signed my name on the page while looking for Fuu. She had to have disappeared somewhere in this crowd, and I was going to find her.  
"Ummm... I don't know where she is..." I replied.  
"Okay, that's obvious but WHO is she?" he asked. I saw another silver spot and slapped the clipboard back on the table and dashed towards her. I reached her at the 'Dance Class' table.  
"Hey, Fuu," I said softly. She turned around to see me standing there.  
"Umm... Hi, Sora... What do you want?" she asked.  
"Well... I'm not exactly sure how to answer that- it's like your eyes are hypnotic... I can't help but loose my words," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt- she could easily hang me from the flagpole. It must've worked because her face turned a little pink.  
"You jerk," she said and kicked me in the leg. "I can't help it if my genetics are screwed up but you don't have to point out how creepy my eyes are!" I clutched my leg where she kicked it- it hurt!  
"No- it's not that. I was pointing out how beautiful they are- like roses planted in your face. I should mention also, that your face has nice attributes, too. For example how soft your skin looks, and your hair seems to mirror the moon's light even though it's daytime." She looked at me, dumbstruck.  
"Wh-why are you s-saying those things? Are you just mocking me, or are are you trying to lie to me?" she asked. I could tell by her voice she was caving.  
"Well... I can tell you why I came over here. I'm actually quite interested in you- you get along with the other girls fine, but keep to yourself especially around Seifer. Why do you hang around nasty boys like that? I could be so much nicer, and I have someone I'd like you to meet, if you would like to meet him."  
"You just want in my pants, don't you? Well, tell 'him' that I'm not interested!"  
"No, no- Fuu, it's not like that! I mean like an actual person, and who he is might shock you."  
"Tell me exactly who it is NOW or I swear I will hang you from the flagpole again!"  
"I know your brother! Your twin brother! I live with him! Not in a weird way, but he is my housemate! About this tall, silver hair like yours... I want to help you join the last of your close family... Your parents and a little brother you never met are... Dead, but Riku's still here."  
"Wait... So my brother... He's alive? I heard a house burned down and my whole family name went with it... You know, except for me. Can you take me to him? Is he here?" she asked, looking around.  
"Yes... He is... But one more question? Would you go out with me?" I asked. She looked down at me, since she was a little taller than I was.  
"Fine. Meet me at the ice-cream shop next to the beach after school. Bring a swimsuit. And you better show up before me. Now let me see my brother," she ordered, the last sentence sounding excited.  
"Alright, let's go then!" I suggested and scanned the crowd for the silver hair I truly wanted. But Fuu was the ideal replacement for a Riku- same silver hair, still taller than me, and the same attitude. The only big difference was the fact that she was a girl. I spotted the only other silver-lavender-tinted hair color in the room. I grabbed Fuu's hand and started through the crowd. When I reached him, he was talking to Leon.  
"... And I think if in the situation you were to see the horror flick, she would be scared out of her wits, clinging to you for safety... You could try any of those approaches, but I would show her a suspence for a scare if I were you- she might not be able to handle the gore," Leon explained.  
"Riku!" I called. His head shot up and looked at me, Leon's head following Riku's lead. He looked at me in awe.  
"Brother, meet sister, sister, brother," I said, gesturing back and forth between Riku and Fuu.  
"Wow," Fuu said, looking at Riku. Riku mirrored her awe.  
"Sora, why did you drag her over here?" he asked me, though not taking his eyes off his sister.  
"Because she wanted to meet you, and who am I to ignore the needs of a girl?" I responded, pretending I was acting like a noble sir just to pick on him.  
"He must be such a good friend..." Fuu said to Riku.  
"Yeah... He's my best friend," Riku said, delighting me- so he was my BEST friend now? I guess so since he told me we were.  
"So you live together?" she asked.  
"Yeah... His parents adopted me."  
"What?" she asked.  
"Yeah," Riku said.  
"But that makes him my brother in a way," Fuu said, looking at me like 'the date is off'.  
"No it doesn't- we are not related whatsoever by blood, so it's all good. I mean, the only thing that makes us brothers is a piece of paper," Riku said. "But paper or not he is still as good as a brother. So that's what he is."  
"Please, Fuu... Let me have a chance- we aren't linked by blood, and he may be my brother now and yours but I need this," I begged.  
"What now?" Riku asked.  
"I'm sorry, Sora... I'd like you to have this chance, too but Zexion is already uncomfortable with the fact that I'm now both his sister and his cousin. It would only make it worse for him if I dated my big brother's little brother."  
"Just one and I will leave you alone about it, please?" I begged.  
"Who, what? I'm confused..." Riku said.  
"Fine. One date and that's it," Fuu said. "And if anyone asks I had no idea until after the date. Got it?" she asked, addressing me, Leon, and Riku with a violent tone.  
"Whatever," Leon said and stalked away ominously.  
"Good," Fuu said and walked away.  
"Could somebody tell me what's going on?" Riku asked.  
"Yeah... The family tree has gotten a lot more complicated- technically, you're dating your cousin who is my cousin by blood and technically I'm dating my sister/cousin because technically you're my brother and she's your sister but since she was adopted by your aunt and uncle so that also technically makes you her cousin, so I'm her brother/cousin, so are you, and Naminé is all of our's cousin," I explained.  
"Yeah... Okay... So, um... What?" he asked.  
"You still don't understand, do you?" I asked.  
"Nope. But no matter- I'm only bloodlinked to Zexion and Fuu, so I'm not being some sort of family pervert or anything. I've got nothing to worry about."  
"Okay... So we made it to some sort of understanding..."  
"You better sign up for something before they're filled up. You only have one more free choice since you already signed up for athletics."  
"Oh... So that's what I signed up for."  
"Not just that, you signed up for girl's athletics. You're working out with them."  
"What!?"  
"Yeah. Good luck being in any sports. All of them are split except cheerleading, so that'll be the only one you can sign up for. Lucky you, huh? They'll probably make you change in the visitor's locker room, but still... Not a lot of guys get away with it. I guess they made an exception for you because half the girls here could beat you up," he said, laughing.  
"Ha, ha. Very funny, Riku," I grumbled.  
"Come on, don't be mad- you should be happy- their work out uniforms are really something."  
"I'll bet they are," I said sarcastically.  
"Really- Leon tells me that their shorts are closer to underwear than shorts. And they have white t-shirts. Blue shorts that go to their waists, and the guys have blue shirts with white shorts. Our shorts are actually shorts, though. I can't wait to see them."  
"Hah- you guys will be on the opposite side of a curtain for privacy reasons, and so the boys can focus."  
"Well, the only class we have today to actually do something in is athletics, and they're having us sign up for our sports. I'm doing Basketball, Baseball, Football, and Track. You? Because I've already planned mine all out."  
"I guess I'll be a cheerleader... Oh, and Track- that's a shared sport, too, even though they split the guys and girls, but while I'm doing my events I'm on the girl's team against guys. Yuffie will find a way for it to happen."  
"I know she will. Well... I guess you better hurry- things are closing up fast."  
"Right!" I exclaimed and ran off. I ran into Zexion, who was right there next to us. He turned to me and looked up from his book for the first time I've ever seen... Or remember at this point. His hair covered half his face and right now he had the expression of a madman on the half I could see; his eye was twitching at me angrily.  
"You... You are funking up my family tree... You are my brother/cousin, too, I'll bet... You are... This is too. Much. Mixing!" he babbled. Then he sighed and gained his composure. Then he looked back to his book. I just started back on my way to another table, dumbstruck. Zexion is so odd...  
I looked from table to table... Chess club; I'm too stupid... Shop; I'm afraid of fire... Home Economics; I can't stand anything that involves needles... Full... Full... Full... Full... FULL! I looked back at the classes I passed. They were now full, too... Dance... It was the only class open. I ran towards it- hopefully they weren't throwing up a sign, too. When I reached the stand I grabbed a clipboard and wrote my name down. I felt pretty good- at least it wouldn't be bad- I at least got to choose even if it was one option, now. Then I realized I had signed the girl's clipboard. Girl's athletics AND girl's dance?! If I were a girl, I would faint... Or I would be happy for having girl's classes. But I'm a boy, and boys aren't normally proud to be a girly boy. I hung my head as I trudged back to the bleachers, my hour of sign-ups done. When everyone was seated (myself between Riku and an angry Kairi), they showed us a movie until lunch. We ate lunch, then we had to go back to the auditorium because they were handing out the conduct handbooks, and some papers for your parents/guardians to sign. Then we had more movie time. After that, we had an hour for athletics.  
"Okay, boys athletics there on that side with Coach Xigbar! Girls with me," a man a blonde goatee, smoothed back blonde hair, and pierced ears said. He had a bit of an Australian accent. I walked with the group of girls.  
"Son, what's your name? I believe you're on the wrong side," he said to me.  
"My name's Sora... I'm supposed to be over here."  
"Sora... Sora... Oh, here you are... That's funny- I thought this was a girl's only thing over here..." he said, checking the clipboard, then scratching his head when he saw my name.  
"I was left alone on the board because I guess I'm a sissy," I said trying to sound less pissed off than I felt.  
"Well- right, then, mate! Welcome to the girl's practice. I'm gonna have to ask you to change in the visitor's locker room from now on, alright mate?"  
"Sure thing coach...?" I started and realized I didn't know his name. I heard the girls giggling behind me. Surely it was because I was a boy here by my own mistake.  
"The name's Luxord, mate, but to you girls and boy I'll be Coach Luxord, alright?"  
"Okay, Coach Luxord," the girls said, two of them sounding more flirty than the rest. Great... Larxene and Xion are in this class, too.  
"Right then- I'll be handing out your uniforms now, and you have to work out in them. We had more boys this year than expected on that half, so they're a full class. That means Sora here will be staying with us- no transfer. Alright?"  
"Alright, Mr. Luxord!" the girls chimed. I realized Naminé was in the back. Staying quiet, as usual.  
"Alright, mates- here's your uniforms. Line up and I'll pass 'em out," Luxord ordered. We lined up, myself being last in line behind Naminé. After a minute, all the uniforms were passed out except mine. He handed it to me and I nearly screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Red Faces, Blue Shorts, And A Surprising Date  
Sora  
I looked at my new... Girl's uniform.  
"Coach Luxord? Is there a boy's uniform I could wear?" I asked.  
"No, mate- I told you the other class is bloody full. That means there's no spare uniforms. Sorry, mate- you just have to make due," he said. I looked at the panty-shorts... My face got hot. "Alright then, mates- we're going to sign up for our sports, and I'll be ordering the uniforms tonight. Let's go Lady Heartless!" Luxord cheered. Yeah- I forgot to mention that they changed Sunset Hill High's mascot to a Shadow Heartless. So I signed up for cheerleading and track, since they were the only available sports for me and my mix-up. I got an athletic bag that said 'Lady Heartless' on the side... They were treating me like one of the girls. Eventually the final bell rang and everyone headed for the trolley, Demyx now complaining quietly to Sïax as they sat in the same spot as this morning... In fact everyone sat in the same spots as this morning, and Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus just sat in the empty seats near the front. Then Fuu got on and sat next to me.  
"Remember the deal. One and that's it. If I find you to be worth the waste of my time I might give you another. So that's how it will be," she said.  
"Fuu, you lucky girl- you have a catch there! Is that who you wanted, Sora?" Larxene called back to us as the trolley started moving. Riku was working on signing all the spaces he was supposed to on the school forms, and Roxas was hissing something to Naminé that made her have a sad look on her face, then he started to apologize and fret.  
"Y-yeah..." I said shyly, looking back to the front.  
"Xion tells me he's a good kisser," Larxene called to Fuu. All heads turned to me.  
"It was a mistake..." I mumbled to myself. "She has no idea," I called back.  
"So you weren't even trying?" Larxene asked.  
"She wasn't the one I wanted... So no," I said.  
"Oh, really? Well let me tell you something, So-ra; I got a peek at what you've got and just let me say- I've dated bigger!" Xion called angrily.  
"But you didn't even see it outside of clothes, and trying to embarrass me with 'I've dated bigger' just makes you look like more of a whore!" I shouted at her. Everyone was silent, and Xion just gave me an angry five-year-old pout/glare and slowly sat back down. That's when someone hooted, raising more from Axel's gang. I knew then Axel was the first cheer, and he must really not like Xion for some reason.  
"Alright, Sora- fight fight fight!" he said as more hoots from his gang, oh-no-you-didn't's, and 'ooooooh's' rang out around the trolley. I noticed Larxene trying to comfort her angry friend, Kairi still looked fairly upset, and Zexion did his crazy glare at me for two seconds. Fuu looked at me in awe.  
"Fuu, let me say that Xion was a mistake- it happened a while back and I was only trying to get over-" I said before Fuu clamped a hand over my mouth.  
"Shut up!" she hissed. "You'll ruin it!"  
"Hmm?" I said under her hand, confused.  
"I like dating a jerk... You may be submissive, but the way you just mouthed your ex was amazing... Your mouth may be your ticket to date two, and I don't want you using it too severely on me but mouth others as you please," she whispered. Okay, so maybe Fuu is a little crazy. She had me pressed against the window. She had this crazy look in her eye. And with her silvery hair and unsmiling mouth, I could see a Riku in her. It might be mean of me to use a girl as replacement for Riku, but in a way, Riku was using a girl to replace me- I mean, he may not know he likes me yet, but he will if I get the chance to nudge him the right way... Or just shove him really hard. But if I never got that chance I would for sure be hanging on to Fuu- she was probably the closest I would ever get to her brother. And, I can get into being with a girl- I was fine with that, and I wasn't necessarily 'gay', because the only guy I was interested in was Riku. But I wasn't all too keen on dating a girl, either. I mean, there was Fuu, and then there was Riku. And those were the only options I had left. The trolley stopped, and I realized she'd had me pinned nearly the whole time.  
"See you soon, Sora- and you better beat me to it," she said, patted the side of my face and got up. I sat there a second and remembered I had to beat her to the ice cream shop. I got up, grabbed my bag and darted off the trolley. Riku caught up to me after a minute.  
"Why are we running?" he asked.  
"I have a date! I can't be late for it, either!" I answered.  
"Okay... Well, the sooner I get my license, then. So, umm... My sister I just found out about today? That's your girl?"  
"Yeah... I have to be first to the date- I guess we're racing."  
"Ahh... Good luck," he said.  
"Thanks." There was nothing more ironic than talking about a date with someone who you wish could be the person you were discussing the date with. We ran in silence the rest of the way and I darted into the house and towards the staircase, grabbing the halfway point's railing and throwing myself over it. I ran up the stairs cleanly for the first time; determination could make you do the coolest things. I ran into my room, threw my bag on the floor, and started pulling my clothes off as quickly as I could. I grabbed my blue swim trunks from a pile of clean clothes that had fallen on the floor from laundry day, and a button up shirt- the same one I was wearing when I first met Riku. I put it on and rolled up the sleeves to above my elbows, then I peeked under the bed. I saw a pair of black sandals I didn't remember having; truly I was looking for my green and purple flip-flops. I slipped the sandals on, grabbed my wallet (which was green camouflage colored and really cool) and put on my sunglasses. Then I ran out of my room, hurried down the stairs, and vaulted over the halfway point's railing. Mom walked out of the kitchen.  
"Sora! Why the rush?" she asked.  
"I have a date!" I called, running out the door. I ran across the road and started towards the ice cream shop. I reached the shop- it was more like an ice cream stand parked under a patio with picnic tables, but we called it the ice cream shop anyway. I sat down at one of the benches, seeing Fuu wasn't even here yet. I decided to unbutton my shirt a little- I went about halfway down. Then I decided all the way would work. I adjusted my sunglasses and stuck my wallet in my pocket- awesome fact about my blue swim trunks is that they had a back pocket and a side pocket, and I always kept my munny in the side because pickpockets go for the back most of the time. After about five minutes of waiting I started suspecting she had stood me up. Or... Did I get here too late? Did she show and leave because I wasn't here? Just as those thoughts were crossing my mind I saw a sight I would never forget. Fuu walking towards me, short hair in a tiny fluffy ponytail, most of the shorter strands falling around her face, framing it in a way that made her look like the cutest Vampire ever. She was wearing a large jersey with two zeros on it under the words 'tornadoes', and blue flip-flops. I would never forget this because 1.) it was my first date, and 2.) her aura in that outfit was so much like Riku's; intimidating, mysterious, and a little hot.  
"Wow... How long have you been here?" she asked.  
"About ten minutes..." I admitted. She started laughing.  
"You ran, didn't you?" she asked, laughing.  
"Yeah," I admitted, embarrassed. So much for being cool. I saw my dad and Riku drive by, obviously about to go get Riku's license.  
"So, wanna grab an ice cream?" she asked, gesturing to the stand. I noticed she had a little waist bag- a tiny purse attached to a string that went around the waist. She unzipped it as we reached the stand. I grabbed her hand to stop her and pulled out my wallet.  
"What do you want?" I asked. "I'll get you anything."  
"Oh... Um... I can get it," she said.  
"But you won't because I'm paying," I insisted.  
"That one," she said, pointing to the list.  
"Make it two," I said. I pulled out a five munny from my wallet. The man grabbed the rounded crystal-colored ball from my hand and gave me back several little ones that I dropped in my wallet. He handed Fuu both of the rainbow-colored ice-cream cones. The ice cream looked like a ball of rainbow- perfect straight stripes of every color. And the cones were a bright color, too- mine was purple, Fuu's was green. We sat at one of the tables and ate our ice cream quietly for a minute.  
"Can I ask you something?" she asked.  
"Yeah, anything," I replied.  
"Why did you run? I mean, I'm hardly worth any trouble. When I was going out with Siefer he made me show up first, he told me I had to pay for my own things, and he told me that if I broke up with him that was the last relationship I'd ever have."  
"Well, firstly I'm not Siefer, second I find you very attractive and I like your personality. Also, you might have a relationship with me," I said.  
"Well... That's why I'm trying to limit the dates... You see, I haven't broken up with Siefer yet. I was waiting for someone else to come along and ask me out. If you can prove to me it is worth it to cheat on him, you'll have saved me from the biggest dickhead to walk the halls."  
"So you're using me?" I asked. It actually wasn't a question- it was a statement. And I guess I deserve it, too seeing how I was doing the same thing.  
"Well... Not really- I mean... Yeah, I guess so... But you're doing the same thing," she said. I was shocked.  
"What?" I said- still not a question; just a statement.  
"Yeah... There's someone else. You're dating me for one of to reasons- to make this person jealous, or to settle on the nearest thing to this person. Because you aren't all lovey with me in public, I figure it's the second one. And I must have a lot of attributes in common with this person because you have more than one girl with their eye on you, all of them trying to show off to make you notice them but you pay no mind to any of them. Therefore I have to rule out all their attributes, leading my conclusion that the person you're after is male, seeing all the girls have some thing or another in common. Since you settled with me, someone who has nothing in common with anyone but one person in the entire school, it leads me to figure the one person you truly desire is off limits, or you would've moved in long ago. What cancels him is the fact that under law of a document, he is your brother and any actions trying to advance romantically would be easily spotted by your parents, so you settled with me, the closest thing to him, as compensation for him; Riku. Check. Mate," she said, flicking over the sugar shaker that resembled a salt shaker, but it contained sugar. I was astonished. She had me completely figured out and I've only talked to her twice.  
"H...how...?" I asked meekly, sounding breathless.  
"I'm on the chess team, Sora. I have to be able to anticipate the move of my opponent and you are so easy to read that by just watching you for three hours has told me so much about your thought process," she explained. "And I promise I won't tell. I have no one TO tell. In this case, I guess I am the only person that you can date between our brother, but even in that case you are my brother, bound by the same document and I am also your cousin by a different, yet similar, document. And this entire time I've been able to focus on your conversation with me and text Siefer under the table; it's over with me and him, and I'm a freed woman. For that, I thank you, Sora. I had fun, but I ought to get home soon, so I'll reward you for being so good to me on this date. Shall we swim?" she asked, standing up, her ice cream gone. I had eaten mine, too, so I stood up nervously. She grabbed my hand and led me down to the beach. She took off her jersey to reveal a nice, sleek body that was only wearing a red bikini. My mouth fell open. Would I get another date? I hoped so; if not I would be left to subtly lust over Riku. I slipped off my shirt, grabbed my wallet, and threw them next to her jersey and our shoes. She slipped into the water and waited for me. I joined her and she watched me through those bright, intelligent red eyes.  
"Just know I'm not offended," she commented.  
"What?" I asked.  
"I'm not offended at being a replacement. Guys do that often so I don't really care because you, though a strange one, are a guy."  
"Oh... Yeah... Hey, I'm sorry about that," I said.  
"Shh... Apologizing is for sweet guys. You aren't sweet- you were a little jittery this morning, and I knew you went into the bathroom, so I figure that you... Need I say more?" she asked. So she knew about that, too.  
"No... I know where you were getting at..."  
"I should apologize- I've destroyed your self confidence."  
"What? No you-"  
"Yes I did- you're talking way less than you normally would."  
"Oh... I don't really have anything to say... What all you've said this whole time has left me speechless."  
"My conclusions are shocking and freakishly accurate, huh?"  
"Yeah..."  
"You know when I had you pinned on the trolley? If I was as slutty as Larxene or Xion I would've started kissing you right there. Want to know why?"  
"S-sure," I stuttered.  
"Because you had this look in your eye that said you were fighting, which was kind of hot, and when you started to look at and talk to me, I saw the most adoring look in your eyes. You were subconciously making me into Riku, weren't you?"  
"I guess I was..."  
"Well, if I were Riku I would've given you a chance if you had asked."  
"Thanks..."  
"I'm going to have to cut the relationship romantically- technically we are related."  
"Fuu, it's only a piece of paper," I said as she got out. She slipped on her shoes and jersey and waist bag. She turned around to look at me with one eye.  
"Exactly," she said, and started walking away. Now what was that supposed to mean? I got out and slipped on my shirt and shoes, then grabbed my wallet. I ran that piece of conversation in my head over and over until I got home. When I got there, Mom was waiting.  
"So, how'd it go?" she asked cheerfully.  
"I won't be out with her again," I said. Then I started up the stairs.  
"I'm sorry, Sora," Mom said sadly.  
"No, it's fine... Just a conflict of interest so we just left it be."

Later, I was laying in my bed, still thinking of how she could have put all that together with such little information. Then my bedroom door opened. I looked at the face in the light of my bedside lamp- I was waiting for dinner, but here was someone who had turned my life upside down from day one. There he was, silver hair covering up most of his eyes, grinning at me from around the door.  
"Guess who just got his license," Riku chimed.  
"You did," I said boredly, even though my insides were fluttering like crazy that he was smiling at me. I noticed he didn't typically smile at people... He would for Naminé, and Squall, and me, but he mostly kept it to himself.  
"What's wrong? Bad date?" he asked.  
"No, it's just she wouldn't let me have another."  
"Well, maybe it's for the best- she is my sister, and that makes her yours, too."  
"Yeah..."  
"So I'm going to go out with Naminé tomorrow- wanna wish me luck?"  
"You're gonna need it to get her by Roxas," I said, sitting up and smiling a little. So now I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it was killing me. Like, seriously crushing me to the point where I was going to die there. It was better than being trapped between a Larxene and a Xion, though.  
"Dinner's ready; thought I'd mention that when I got up here," he said.  
"Riku? Can I ask you something?"  
"What's up?"  
"Say there's someone you love, but you can't love them, someone you need, but you can't want them, and this someone means a lot to you, but keeps hurting you? What should I do about it?"  
"Well... You could start by either telling them or if you can't do that, try moving on."  
"What if I tried moving on but it didn't work?"  
"Then you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, Sora. I don't know what else to tell you. Come on- dinner will help take your mind off of her," he said. Yeah... Her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Two Big No-No's  
Sora  
After dinner, I went to bed... But I didn't sleep for a long time. My thoughts were stuck on Riku... Maybe it's a guy thing to go after what you can't have, and Riku is just one of those things... But doesn't that usually just apply to girls? I don't know why I did it, but I got out of bed and snuck into the bathroom. I peeked through the gap of the door and heard nothing. I walked in, and he wasn't even there. It was eleven at night! Where was he?! Then I noticed his window was open. He snuck out, then... I heard a scraping at the wall outside, then some sort of sliding and a swear. Then I heard more scraping. I ran into the bathroom just in time to watch Riku come in through the window, his brown bag on his back. He threw it under the bed, whatever was inside clanking like aluminum cans. He unzipped his black hoodie, revealing his bare chest. He kicked off his sandals and climbed into bed. After a minute or two I heard him snoring softly. I crept back to my own bed. I lay there- what was he doing out? Why this late? I started to suspect he was out with someone.

"Sora! Get up and get ready for school! And set your alarm- your father and I will be away until Saturday," she said, coming in and opening my closet.  
"Saturday?" I asked sleepily.  
"Yes- he got the letter yesterday, and we are going to be going to his seventeenth anniversary high school reunion. We have to go all the way to Hollow Bastion," she explained. "And make sure that while we are gone you and Riku both control the house, so no fighing, got it?"  
"Hollow Bastion? Mom, it hasn't been called 'Hollow Bastion' for eleven years- it's called Radiant Gardens, now."  
"Radiant Gardens...? Oh! Right- sorry sweetheart," she said, throwing a uniform on the bed. "I'm going to go get Riku and tell him the same thing- you get dressed!" she said, hurrying to the next room. I got dressed and went into the bathroom for my routine- hair, teeth, pee, wash, go. When I was finished, Riku walks in as I'm walking out, him yawning and reaching for my hairbrush. Meh- let him use it. It just means I'm helping him keep his hair soft for me... If I ever get to touch it. I went downstairs and grabbed my lunch and breakfast- I never ate my breakfast yesterday, which was an egg sandwich, and this morning it was a breakfast burrito. I waited for Riku while he was doing whatever he was doing. About two minutes later, he came out with his breakfast and lunch. He peeled the foil off some of the burrito as we started walking.  
"I'm in charge," he said before biting into the burrito.  
"No you're not- Mom said share the responsibility!" I objected.  
"I can easily beat you up if I wanted to- that makes me more capable." He took another bite.  
"That's not fair!" I complained, opening my breakfast.  
"Life's not fair, Sora," he replied. Eventually, we reached the trolley. Riku threw his foil away and got on, passing Axel's gang and sitting in the same seat he sat in the day before. Larxene, Xion, and Siefer's gang sat where they had yesterday, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie sat where they had sat yesterday afternoon, and Leon and Yuffie's families sat where they had yesterday. Except Kairi- she sat down next to me with a paper in her hand.  
"Sora, this is a report I've been working on for months- just this morning I heard another incident!" Kairi said, sounding excited.  
"What are you talking about?" I asked.  
"For months the islands have had a gang who goes around spray painting and vandalizing spots all over downtown, and just in the past four or five days there's been two incidents right in our backyard!"  
"Someone vandalized your yard?" I asked.  
"No! The vandals has been striking in our part of town recently!" she said.  
"Gimme a break, Kairi," I responded. "The only gangs around here are Axel and Siefer's gangs, and Siefer's running a group of bullies and Axel's group are just troublemakers. They wouldn't paint anything."  
"Well, they had to have- someone did it," she said.  
"What if it wasn't a gang? What if it was one person?" someone asked. Both of us looked at Riku, the one who had spoken.  
"I would be surprised if it was one person- the vandalism is huge and colorful, or small and intricate. And there's a lot of it- either this person has done this so much they've accomplished much in a short time or there's more than one," Kairi noted.  
"What makes you think it's one person?" I asked, interested in the conversation since Riku joined.  
"I don't know... But you can never rule out the possibility without more evidence first, right?" he asked.  
"Yeah... That's true... Huh," she said, getting up and sitting by Yuffie while looking over her paper. Sïax was sitting next to Marluxia today, I noticed. That's when Hayner, Pence, Olette, Roxas, and Naminé got on.  
"Hey, Naminé!" Riku called and patted the seat next to him. She smiled shyly and waved. Roxas gave Riku the dirtiest look before going to his seat. Naminé was still walking up the isle, today wearing thigh-high socks. As she was passing Axel's seat, Demyx grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. He whispered something to her before letting her go. She looked at him sadly, and seemed torn to go to Riku. She eventually moved back towards us and sat next to Riku.  
"Being thrown into high school is so new," she mumbled.  
"What did he say?" Riku asked- he sounded concerned, seeing that she was sad.  
"Well... He told me to take care of myself. It was a little confusing- why would he be concerned with the likes of me? That was the only thing he has ever said to me before- I don't get it," she said. Internally I cheered- this means Riku might have a competitor for Naminé's attention. It looked like he figured it out, too- he had a mildly irritated look on his face.  
"It's nothing, then- he probably just wanted to talk." When the trolley stopped, Roxas took Naminé's shoulders and steered her off the trolley, glaring at Riku. I threw my foil away, having eaten my breakfast on the trolley. I went through the day, all my classes full of everyone my age I knew. At lunch I sat at the big table- the spot Yuffie and Leon promised me, Riku with us. After lunch we went to history with Xigbar, and he went over the whole of Twilight Town, Destiny Islands, and Radiant Garden's geography. After that we had math with Mr. Luxord, who was both a teacher and a coach just like Xigbar. Immediately I knew something was up- I walked I to the classroom and he sat up in his seat, slamming a drawer on his desk.  
"'Ello, closs," he said. "Take your seats and we shall begin, ay?" I sat down in the front row, second column, Riku sitting to my left, Roxas to my right, Naminé in the corner beside him, Fuu behind Naminé, Hayner next to Fuu, Pence to Hayner's left behind me, and Olette beside Pence behind Riku. Tidus sat behind Pence, Selphie sat behind Olette, and Kairi sat behind Hayner. Xion sat next to her behind Fuu. Now the room was full.  
"Awright- we are gonna have a good long lesson in... What bloody closs is this?" Luxord asked, turning around and swaying slightly.  
"This is math," Olette said.  
"Right! What the little moose there said," Luxord said.  
"Hey! You're drunk!" Hayner exclaimed.  
"I'm not drunk- I'm teaching. Now what happens when this spins?" Luxord asked, spinning the globe.  
"Umm... Day and night- duh," Xion said.  
"Wrong- it's a globe! Bloody hell, woman don't you know dirt from sand? Globes have no day and night!" Luxord said, slurred slightly.  
"Dirt and Sand are the same thing," Pence objected.  
"Correct, mate! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Luxord said, making a jagged line on the chalkboard with some chalk. "Now, we are going to go over the journey of dragons. You see, those bloody pirates decided that they wanted to kill some shit, so they went over the ocean. Their captain, Xigbar, takes them down to a McDonald's in the middle of the city of Atlantis, and he got mad and vomited on my shoes, you see. Then, that bloody scum-dog decides he would go be a coach and so there he is across the hall with his goofy pirate eyepatch. He is my best friend, mate and I bloody hate 'im, but I love that stupid son-of-a-bitch. When you ask him where he got his eyepatch he'll tell ya he sold a snake in Italy... Alright, mate- homework is to... To... You know what? Start playing poker. Here, have some cards and some munny..." he ranted, then started passing out cards and munny. "Whoever wins keeps the bloody munny. You won't stand a chance- awright- my cards... Ha! I win!" he exclaimed, throwing his cards and scooping up the munny with his arms. Then he passed out on Riku's desk. Everyone exchanged confused glances.  
"He's totally smooshed! I told you so!" Hayner said, breaking the silence. The room started buzzing with chatter.  
"He isn't very qualified," Olette said with a huff.  
"Say what you want- I think he's kick-ass!" Pence said. The bell rang and we all headed off for athletics. I got to the gym with my bag. The girls were going into the changing room, so were the boys under Xigbar's instruction. I went to the girl's visitor's locker room. I changed into my uniform, embarrassed- my bulge could be seen quite clearly. I untucked the shirt, seeing how it helped cover it up and headed out into the gym. The curtain was pulled and Luxord stumbled into the half the girls were in.  
"Aww, mate- don't you look adorable," he asked, pinching my chin as he passed me. He went to grab a box in the corner. He carried it back.  
"I've got your uniforms for cheerleading. Here you are," he said, slurred and passed out uniforms. He handed me mine.  
"Um... Luxord? We have a problem," I said, looking at my cheerleading uniform.  
"What is it, mate? Did I order the wrong size?" he asked.  
"No," I replied.  
"Then there's nothing wrong, then, mate!" he said.  
"Um... This is a skirt, not pants," I said slowly.  
"Don't be self-conscious, mate! You'll look cute as a button in it, mate! Now, girls- start doing laps... Run about twenty laps and come to me when you finish." The girls ran to put away their uniforms.  
"I can't be a male cheerleader in a skirt," I said.  
"Yes you can, love- no one will know the difference. Now put your dress away and do your laps like a man."  
"I AM a man," I said.  
"Then there's no reason why you shouldn't be doin' your laps!" he said loudly and stumbled into his office. I leaned away from him. Then I walked towards the locker rooms while girls started emerging. I put away my uniform and walked out of the locker room, joining the other girls while they did their laps.

I got on the trolley after school when Riku sat next to me.  
"Okay, so Luxord gets a game planned for the football team tomorrow night! It's only the second day of school! Was he drunk or something?"  
"Yes!" I shouted. "Are you blind?! You saw him! He passed out on YOUR desk!"  
"I was asking figuratively," he said. "This means I'm just going to have to take Naminé and delay the date- I have to try and memorize the playbook tonight. That's not very fun- I'll be playing and she'll be cheering tomorrow, and we won't go out tonight at all."  
"So then, when you're sitting out maybe you should just talk to her."  
"She won't have time..."  
"Then take her out after the game," I said.  
"No... I'll reschedule- Friday night." That's when Naminé got on and Riku stopped her. "Naminé, we have to go out Friday night- I have a game and we'll both be too busy to have much fun these next two days," he told her.  
"Okay... I understand," she said. Then she sat in her usual spot. For dinner Riku made some sandwiches for us, we watched tv, then got ready for bed. The next day crawled by, in athletics we learned some cheers and chants, and that night we stayed after school. We sat around a few hours in the back stairwell of the school, watching for people coming into the school or leaving.  
"I'm excited for the game, anyway. What about you?" he asked suddenly.  
"No," I said bluntly.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"You'll see, and then you'll laugh at me. Just you wait," I said. Xigbar came out, then.  
"Riku- come on. We need you to start getting ready," Xigbar said. "I look forward to seeing your squad's routine. Yuffie's a tough captain, isn't she?"  
"Not really," I answered. He patted my shoulder, smiling, then left with Riku. That's when Larxene, Xion, and Selphie came down the stairs towards the field in their cheer uniforms.  
"Better hurry," Larxene said. I grabbed my bag and ran into the boy's restroom. I changed into my cheer uniform and went downstairs after the girls. They threw their bags down on the bench for the cheerleaders. Then they all sat down. Naminé ran up to us then in her uniform, which was blue and gold, identical to the rest, but seemingly shorter.  
"Did you bring it?" Larxene asked her eagerly. Naminé stopped to catch her breath and pull her skirt down nervously.  
"Yes," Naminé said, pulling out some kind of glitter kit.  
"Then get started," Xion ordered. Naminé pulled out a little piece of paper with a pattern of different sized stars. Naminé pressed it to Larxene's right cheek and painted on some liquid. She peeled it off and made the stars blue and gold. Then she made the exact same design on Xion's cheek, then Selphie's, then Yuffie's. Then she did my cheek, then her own perfectly. Then she put blue glitter eyeshadow on all the girls, myself and herself, then the bright yellow eyeliner. She went over her lips in blue lipstick, along with Yuffie's, Larxene's, and Selphie's. Then she did Xion's and mine in gold lipstick. I was embarrassed- she was making me up like one of the girls.  
"Alright! Let's practice our routine!" Yuffie said. We started one of the cheers that had a dance. I actually started having fun with it. At the part where you throw your hip out and your hand up I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned my head while Yuffie clapped for us to take a break.  
"Sora?" he asked. I grinned nervously... Or I tried to smile. It was Riku.  
"H-hey, Riku... What's up?" I asked.  
"I was going to ask you the same thing- what's all this," he asked, laughing and waving to my outfit.  
"There was a mix up in the orders or something and... Yeah... I TOLD YOU YOU'D LAUGH!" He just started cracking up, his shoulder pads on and his football pants and shoes and whatnot.  
"What? It's funny! You dance fluidly like a girl- when did that happen?"  
"When I accidentally signed up for girl's dance class... They're going to make me wear a tutu for Swan Lake this December... Why are you out here?" I asked, changing the subject when he laughed.  
"I was told to come ask Yuffie to come into the locker room for a pep talk- the other team showed up about ten minutes ago, and the game'll start in five minutes," Riku said, gesturing to the stands. They were filling up fast.  
"Pep talk? Let's go, girls... And Sora," Yuffie sniggered and led us to the locker room in a sprint. Naminé took Riku's arm and pulled him along. Yuffie got us to join her pep talk and we sprinted out onto the field. The boys following us to the benches, they sat down and we started our routine. Afterwards the game went through. At halfime, I noticed Demyx was missing, and Naminé hadn't returned from her restroom break. I snuck off to look for her. I saw her standing under the bleachers, Demyx restraining her wrists.  
"Naminé, please- I... I... It's so hard to admit... I really like you... There! I said it. I, Demyx, one of the most popular guys in school likes Naminé, and I'm not ashamed of it. I even wrote a song for you... I could never sing it because I'm too damn shy, but I made it just for you... Please, give me a chance," he begged.  
"I'm sorry, Demyx... I can't- Riku asked first."  
"The only reason I didn't ask was because I'm scared of your brother... I know it's stupid but he broke Hayner's arm once, and I know what he's capable of if he's mad. You know... When Roxas would drag you to my house to keep an eye on you while he played with Hayner I was doing the same thing... Keeping an eye on you, I mean. I've always liked you- that's why I never dated anyone. I was just waiting for when it would be appropriate for me to ask..."  
"I wish I could help you, but I can't. I'm so sorry," she said, pity in her voice. Demyx released her and nodded slowly.  
"Yeah... Me, too," he said. Then he grabbed her face quickly and gently before kissing her and pulling her waist to him. Her eyes shot wide and he released her.  
"I gotta get back to my game... Just know if things don't work out with you and Riku, I'm open... And if you care about him so much, I'll help him out if something threats him... But just for your sake," he said. Then he pulled on his helmet and started my way. I ran back to the cheer squad and sat down next to them on their bench. Demyx sat down on the player's bench right next to Riku. Naminé arrived to the cheerleader's bench seconds later. I walked over to Riku and pulled him aside.  
"Riku, I just saw Demyx kiss Naminé," I hissed.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Yeah- he was talking to her then he just kissed her. She didn't even try to stop him!" I whispered. He shrugged.  
"I'll just kiss Larxene behind her back, then. I mean, we aren't official yet- I could easily pull out of a date just like she could. She's cute, but she's just a girl. Also, she's my cousin in a way... I have so many excuses I could use... Also, I started thinking this was a bad idea... It got a lot worse when I found out about the Demyx thing- that's why he keeps looking at me like he'll rip my head off."  
"Really? So that's it, then?" I asked. For real? I was happy, but then Naminé's reaction came to mind. She'll be crushed- she thought someone finally liked her... But now she knows Demyx does, too.  
"Yeah. I don't want to fight for someone who is sort of off-limits. Her brother would throw a fit if I came to take her out, anyway. Too much conflict with her. But thanks for telling me- you're a good brother for doing that."  
"Thanks," I said as he patted my shoulder and returned to the bench. Seriously? This is dreamlike... And it's exactly what I'd wanted. Later when the game was over and the Heartless had won, the cheer squad and the football team huddled up in a cheery group, and Riku grabbed Larxene and kissed her. Naminé, luckily, didn't see. Then we got on the trolley and went home.  
"You look cute in your uniform, Sora," Riku teased. Honestly what he said was making my stomach flutter, but I pretended I was angry.  
"Stop picking on me- my coach is a drunk."  
"That is why my coach is cooler."  
"No- your coach is like a cross between a pirate, a surfer, and a ninja."  
"Well, surfers and ninjas are awesome, so my coach is two-thirds of awesome."  
"Whatever," I said, walking into the house. I bathed and went to bed. Thursday was uneventful. I did my homework and went to bed. The next day crawled by slowly, and I didn't pay attention to anything since it was Friday and everything was boring on Fridays. Riku and I went home and he got all ready for his date and took the car- ever since he got his license, dad let him have the car so he could use the sportscar.  
"I'm going to meet her at the theatre... Her dad is going to drop her off," Riku said, grabbing the keys. "See ya later," he said, walking out the door.  
As soon as he was gone I stalked to his room. I sat on his bed and lay down. I woke up some time later and sat up. I put my feet off the side of the bed and my foot nudged his brown bag. I reached down and pulled it up by the strap, not knowing the top was open. The contents of the bags fell out, and one rolled out onto the floor... A can of... Spray paint? Then it made sense... Why he had brought up the one-man vandal in this story Kairi wrote at the beginning of the week. I heard the door open and close downstairs. I quickly shoved the bag under the bed as someone stumbled up the stairs. I got up to run for it when Riku's door flew open, Riku with a black eye, tattered clothes, and bleeding from his nose and mouth.  
"Sora?" he asked, shocked I was in his room before swaying and falling over. Luckily I ran to him and caught him on my shoulder.  
"Riku! What happened to you?!" I asked, extremely concerned. I helped him walk to his bed and he lay down. He coughed painfully once and sat up, leaning on his elbows.  
"It hurts to lay down," he said, pulling up his shirt to reveal a large bruise on his ribs. "Roxas didn't like me dating his sister, and apparently Sïax is with Larxene... He didn't like me kissing her. Roxas hauled his sister home when Sïax showed up... He got me really bad... I came home and here I am..."  
"Geez!" I exclaimed.  
"Yeah... He didn't get away with out a good fight, though... I guess that was a no-no on my part... You know, kissing Larxene. I'm pretty bad," he said, his eyes closed. I couldn't hold back any longer. I had to let him know.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Just A Piece Of Paper  
Sora  
I looked at him, his eyes closed, in pain... All because of girls. But I wasn't a girl- I was Sora. Maybe he was disoriented enough to let me talk it into him he loves me as more than a brother. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, I grabbed his chin carefully and pulled his lips to mine. He gasped and I knew his eyes had shot open. I pulled away, keeping my lips barely two inches from his.  
"Sora... What are you doing?" he asked.  
"I... I don't know... But I love you... You are the only one I've wanted this badly," I whispered.  
"Sora... We're brothers... We can't." So something in him desired me? My heart went even more crazy than it already was, if possible. Then what Fuu had said clicked into place.  
"It's just a piece of paper... You are not my brother." One of my hands gently ran up his stomach.  
"S-Sora... D-don't..."  
"You are not my best friend..." I ran my hand back down to his belt and undid it.  
"Stop it, Sora," he ordered, voice cracking.  
"You are the love of my life," I said, and pressed my mouth to his. I was very aroused... Mere inches away from everything I've wanted the past week. "Do you want me at all?" I asked.  
"Well... I... M-maybe," he stuttered.  
"That's all I needed to know," I said, kissing him again. "Do what you want with me." He pulled back and took my hands in his.  
"Not now, Sora... I'm in too much pain right now."  
"Oh... Okay," I said sadly... He was going to pick on me for this later, for sure.  
"I didn't say never... Just not now," he said. My head shot up. So... He wants to?! I smiled at him.  
"I don't know if 'thank you' is appropriate," I said, tears in my eyes.  
"It's not, but... What kind of 'brother' would I be if I hurt you?" he asked. I carefully hugged him to not hurt him.  
"You'd still be the best... Forever," I said.  
"So what does this mean for us?" he asked.  
"It means you have to break up with Naminé," I said immediately.  
"Fine."  
"And I know about your paints," I said. He looked at me.  
"You won't tell mom, right?" he asked, worried.  
"Haha- nah," I said. He shifted his position and grimaced in pain. "Don't do that- you're gonna hurt yourself!"  
"I doubt anything I could do right now will hurt me more than I am right now."  
"Anything?" I asked.  
"I told you we aren't doing that right now- do you have any idea how bad it would be if anyone found out about us? Especially Mom or Dad? And denying it won't help if we're caught- you are HORRIBLE at lying."  
"Fine..."  
"How long has this been going on?" he asked after a moment.  
"Since Saturday night," I admitted.  
"I sort of figured that," Riku said. "It's Friday night," he said a few seconds later.  
"So?"  
"So that means tomorrow is Saturday. Mom and Dad'll be home."  
"Oh..."  
"I ought to get cleaned up," he said, shoving my face and getting out of bed. He limped to the bathroom. "Sora- will you bring me a set of clothes? Like underwear and my pajamas. And a loose t-shirt. I need to cover the bruise on my side."  
"Mom will see your black eye, though," I interjected, carrying what he asked for I to the bathroom. He was sitting on the toilet, pants unbuttoned and removing his shoes... Without a shirt, and that wasn't the only bruise on his torso- there were one or two smaller ones on his chest.  
"Thanks, Sora. You know, in an unbrotherly but brotherly way at the same time I love you. It's sort of weird, isn't it?"  
"No. But I know how you feel, except I don't really see you much as a brother anymore. I love you, too, Riku."  
"Good... Now that we have established that get out- I need to take a shower." He shoved my butt. I got out of the restroom to give him the privacy I didn't think I wanted to give him. I stood outside the bathroom for a few minutes before cracking the door. I peeked into the bathroom, the light blue fish shower curtains hiding Riku from view. I walked over and sat on the toilet, waiting for him to get out of the bath. I was going to see him naked and/or play with him before the weekend was over. The curtain opened.  
"WAAAAAAAHHH! SORA!" he screamed. I just stared. It was... So big! Way more than mine- his dad must've had good genes. Then there were hands blocking a good majority of my view of it.  
"Hey!" I protested.  
"Why are you in here?!" he demanded.  
"I wanted to see what I'd be dealing with... I like it," I responded.  
"SORA!" he shouted," GET OUT!"  
"I don't wanna... Not till you let me touch it."  
"No!"  
"Fine. I'll sit right here, then."  
"Fine," Riku said angrily and started walking over to his clothes. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and grabbed him.  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he shouted. "SORA LET GO!" I started rubbing my thumb on it as long as I could stretch my thumb. I could feel him hardening.  
"You like this, don't you?" I asked, running my hand over it, now.  
"NO! STOP IT!" he shouted, reaching to stop me. I squeezed him and he froze.  
"What if I...?" I wondered, moving in front of him and crouching.  
"Sora, quit it," he said nervously, noting the grip I had- he wasn't going to try and step back if it would be pulled, and he knew I could tug if he made the wrong move. I grinned at him before moving in.  
"Sora- DON'T! I'M HURTING!" he protested right before I slipped him into my mouth. "Oh my... S-Sora!" he said loudly, but halfheartedly. I toyed with him, Riku standing frozen in shock and disbelief. After a few seconds I had finally let go with my hand and gave one good suck then tasted something odd, but it was only a small amount. Riku shoved me.  
"Th-that's enough!" he said and grabbed his clothes, hurrying into his room. Now I know what I tasted wasn't cum- it wasn't thick enough and there wasn't enough of it. That means... Riku was about to. I smiled. He liked it regardless of what he said. I decided to brush my teeth- he wouldn't want to kiss someone who just had him in his mouth. When I was done I went into his room.  
"Riku?" I asked softly. His back was toward me and he was curled up facing the wall. "Riku?"  
"What?" he asked blankly.  
"Are you okay?"  
"... No."  
"I'm sorry- I shouldn't have... But I wanted to so bad," I said apologetically.  
"It's not you, it was just... It's wrong, you know? Guys are supposed to be with girls. And then there's the fact we are kind of brothers. And that we are home alone doing that. And that I wasn't ready..."  
"I'm sorry I forced you..."  
"It's alright, Sora... You can't help it that you're desperate."  
"HEY!" He laughed at me then.  
"Riku... Since mom isn't home... Do you think I could sleep in here? With you?" I asked. He sighed.  
"... I don't see why not," he allowed. I crawled into bed with him. I curled up to him. He rolled over, turned off the lamp and put an arm over me. I smiled.  
"Riku?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Can we go out over the weekend? Like a date?"  
"Fine... But don't act like it is a date. It's going to look like a brotherly outing. And we will go to the next town over so it looks less suspicious. We'll ask mom if we can go to that concert in Twilight Town, and get a hotel room so we won't have to travel at night. She trusts me enough and she knows she can trust you as long as I'm there. And... When we are spending the night at the hotel... I'll let you take me there. I just don't want to be near anyone who can say anything, okay?" I couldn't believe it. He was offering sex...  
"It'll be my first time if we go through with it," I said, quietly, "especially with a guy."  
"Mine too... With anyone including guys," he replied just as softly. I felt his grip on me tighten. "If it was anything like you did just a few minutes ago, though, I think I can survive."  
"I'm a little nervous."  
"I'm a little scared but even as clumsy and reckless as you are I'd do it. Besides... The brother thing isn't really a problem- you're right: It's only a piece of paper."  
"I'm glad. If you were my biological brother I'd hang myself."  
"I wouldn't let you."  
"Hmm," I smiled, snuggling up to him. I felt him kiss the top of my head.  
"I love you, Sora," he whispered.  
"I love you, too, Riku."

The next morning I heard Riku's door open.  
"... Let me get the boys up for brea-" Mom said, stopping when she saw us, I guess. Riku's bicep was right in front of the corner of my mouth. I bit down on it, pretending to sleep. I cracked the eye mom couldn't see in horror at Riku while he jolted awake. He took one look at me before seeing Mom.  
"Uhh... Hey, Mom," Riku said a little nervously. "Welcome home," he offered.  
"What's going on, here?" she asked while I sat up sleepily, playing up the act of just waking up.  
"Oh, this?" Riku asked. "Sora had a bad nightmare last night and was afraid to sleep on his own. He's sort of a pansy sometimes," Riku said calmly and cockily, sounding just like he would if that were true.  
"Sora, you watched a scary movie last night, didn't you?" Mom asked, hands on her hips.  
"Heheh... No!" I said, lauging nervously. "... Yes," I said in defeat, hanging my head. She started tsking me.  
"Well, I came to tell you we got in a while ago and I made breakfast. So come down and eat, okay?" she said. "Brothers," she said exasperatedly while she closed the door behind her as she left. We sat there a minute until we were sure she was gone.  
"That was close," I said.  
"Why'd you bite me?!" Riku demanded.  
"To wake you up! I'm bad at lying and I needed a smooth talker- you were the closest so I did that to wake you up. And biting was the most inconspicuous way to do it." Riku sighed angrily.  
"Sure, whatever."  
"We got away with it!" I cheered quietly, hugging Riku's neck.  
"Sora, not while they're home!" Riku protested quietly.  
"Why not? It's not like they'll come in here and catch us," I said.  
"Mom just did not two minutes ago," Riku pointed out.  
"Whatever," I muttered and kissed him, my arms still around his neck. He kissed back a second and pulled away.  
"Remember- wait," he said. Then we got ready like we normally do in the morning, putting on clothes rather than a uniform, then going down to eat French toast.  
"Hey, Mom?" Riku asked.  
"Yes, dear?" my mom asked.  
"Could Sora and I go down to see that band Heartless' concert tonight? Tickets to get in are five bucks and I've got ten. I wanted to take him to celebrate how well we did at the game this week. He did a good job cheering for us with the squad, and I wanted to reward him with a brotherly outing."  
"Oh... When is it?" she asked.  
"Seven. I have money saved up so if it's a problem for us to travel at night we can stay in a hotel. We will take our phones so you guys can contact us or vice versa," Riku said as if he were an executive promoting a business idea.  
"Umm..." she hesitated. Cloud walked in.  
"Let 'em go, Aerith- they're big boys and I did crap like that all the time when I was a kid- my parents were fine with it as long as I checked in regularly. If you go, however I expect a call at 9:00 telling me you're in the hotel and about to go to bed. Got it?" Dad asked.  
"Yes, sir," Riku and I said in unison.  
"Riku, I'm trusting you to not crash the car. And you drive there and back and maybe to a convenience store or McDonald Duck's, okay? And call to tell me if you decide to stop at one of those. Or a gas station. I need to know everywhere you go, okay?"  
"Yes, sir," we said again.  
"Good. Riku, you know where the keys are. Have fun." Riku and I grinned at each other and took off. I heard Mom start talking to Dad when I got outside the kitchen. I stopped to listen.  
"Cloud? I'm a little worried... I went to wake up Riku and Sora and they were all curled up together on the same bed in Riku's room. Riku told me Sora had a nightmare but Sora looked a little too happy when I saw him sleeping to have been a bad dream. And the way they were... Holding each other... I'd didn't look right somehow."  
"Aerith, Sora's a sissy- of course he'd do something like that."  
"Well that's the thing- he doesn't seem very manly for his age- Roxas got in trouble several times for fighting last year and I see him hanging around with those two boys, his sister and that other girl all the time, but Sora? He and Kairi have been friends for years but they've been distant these past few... And he only went on one date with a girl and he didn't seem all that concerned when she rejected him later. I'm scared he might be... Gay," she said, saying 'gay' quietly like it was a crime to say it out loud.  
"Aerith, I've worried about that, too, but we have Riku now if Sora does turn out like one of those guys. Besides- he's a teenager- if that's the case he'll probably get over it once he figures it all out."  
"I know but...what if-"  
"It takes sex with a guy to straighten him up? Fine by me. As long as he ends up getting his shit worked out. You're forgetting my brother Ven's been seeing guys lately since his second wife left him. Let Ven talk to him if your worried about your son taking it up the ass."  
"He's your son, too, but... What if he and Riku... What if they have sex at the hotel?" Aerith asked, causing me to sweat. "I mean... I feel that Sora might be pursuing Riku as more than a role model." I quietly hurried to the stairs and silently climbed them as fast as possible while my dad responded to that remark. I went into Riku's room.  
"Riku- Mom's onto us!" I hissed, closing his door.  
"What?"  
"She thinks- no- she KNOWS I'm gay and she's suspecting... Tonight we..." His eyes went wide.  
"Dammit... Just act like you normally do. She'll be even more suspicious if we avoid each other."  
"Okay," I agreed. Then I went into my room and packed my pjs and some clothes for tomorrow along with my toothbrush, hairbrush, and my own towel- I don't trust motel towels. After a few minutes I was about to head downstairs when Mom walked in, which was odd because she didn't knock like she always did. Probably trying to catch me and Riku, I suppose.  
"Sora, honey- can I talk to you?" she asked.  
"Yeah, sure- what do you want?" I asked.  
"Come with me," she said and took me into the hall outside my room where we crossed paths with Riku and Dad. Riku and I looked at each other and shrugged. Dad took Riku into his office while mom led me to the kitchen. She pushed a glass of milk and a plate of a few cookies to me. I grabbed one and looked at her.  
"What did you need to talk about?" I asked.  
"Sora, I need to talk to you about... Sex," she said. I dropped my cookie and my mouth fell open. She was NOT about to give me The Talk right now. She just looked at me calmly.  
"And just in case I'm going to go over male on male sex, too," she added. I was glad I hadn't bitten into the cookie I used to be holding- if I had I'd be choking to death. But now I think I'll die of embarrassment.


End file.
